The Little Hawk: Monte Bandeo
by AvaEobane
Summary: As the title states, this part contains the Monte Bandeo Arc from The Little Hawk which will be seperated from the old file now to make the editing part easier. Summary: After the Secret Service Arc, everything calmed down ... but a new threat arises. Fifth part of The Little Hawk-series
1. 165: Going West

AN: I don't own FMA or any related characters - and I don't own the pink lunchbox as well. I just own the idea.

* * *

_Twenty-four kunai_, Jun Li thought as she watched the targets around her. She had been working at her aim for the last few days because she had felt that it hadn't been as good as before when she had sparred with Phil and to win the next match, she had decided to work harder on it. She had gotten to the point where she was today with hard work and the goal to get stronger with every day. But still, even though twenty-four out of twenty-five had hit the target with the accuracy she was working to achieve, she was still unhappy about the last one. Years of fighting had taught her that sometimes, the outcome of a fight depended on a single kunai or shuriken and after losing too many comrades to the changing enemies she had faced along the years, she had grown wary of a _nearly_ perfect technique. _Nearly_ had never been good enough for her.

She had been _nearly_ good enough with her alkahestry to heal her best friend on the battlefields of West-Xing more than a decade ago.

She had been _nearly_ fast enough to protect one of the high-ranking ladies when the assassin had appeared from the shadows.

She had _nearly_ been gifted enough to receive her grandfather's appreciation.

Far more vivid than her many successes, she remembered the times she had failed. She remembered how she had kneeled over the bleeding body and how she had tried to stop the blood that had run over her hands and onto the ground while the reality hit Jun Li: it was futile to attempt a healing when so much damage was done. She remembered how she had seen the man in black coming from the shadows and how she had moved forward to stop him – and how she had been to slow. And maybe her greatest failure had been her inability to gain her grandfather's respect. He had been her clan head and she had been supposed to have his trust and his respect but she had traded it when she had been thirteen and when she had stayed in the services of the powerless former emperor Jun Yao instead of returning to her hometown to be assigned to a new prince or princess.

Jun Li was probably the most dangerous fighter in Xing because she had always been gifted in many different ways. Still, this was exactly the reason why she had never been the best. She had had too many fields to cover at the same time and this made it impossible for her to excel even at a single one.

"That looks great," Phil said as he took some shuriken from his bag and smirked at his colleague. "Say, before the official function today, do you care to train a little bit? My skills are getting rusty these days and I even lost my last fight against Jade."

Jun Li smirked as she heard the annoyance in his voice. To defeat Jade was one of the most complicate things any hand-to-hand combatant could wish to achieve. It wasn't even that the black-haired woman was extremely strong or could handle weapons better than anyone else. No, the reason why it was nearly impossible for anyone but Phil to deal with Jade as an equal was that the woman who saw everything in patterns and structures could remember every single attack an enemy had ever used on her – and her scars proved that there had been many who had tried to cut her down. Her ability to make her fight as logical as a chess game made her one of the best strategist Amestris had to offer.

"I mean … she's supposed to be the less talented fighter," he went on.

"But don't you admit that her ambition always made her stronger and more dangerous?" Jun Li asked while she carelessly included some backflips to her performance.

"That's true," he admitted while he threw a first shuriken at her. "Well, let's start now."

* * *

Short red hair, a dark green uniform, purple ink on pale hand and the smell of cinnamon chewing gum – that was what Elaine Hamilton was about. She had always been an attentive and observant woman and her calm behaviour had saved her at many occasions. She cared deeply for her organisation and therefore she had tagged along the team she had sent off to Amestris. Currently, she congratulated herself to this decision which had been born out of boredom because while they tracked down their targets, they found the unconscious body of an Amestrian agent. The woman was severely injured but her wounds weren't life-threatening. The head of the Cretan Secret Service gave her orders and along with two of her female agents she cleaned the wounds and once the blood was gone, Elaine took the time she needed to identify the woman. The injured agent belonged to the Amestris Fire Lion and according to the dog tags around her neck, her name was Jane Stevens.

"An Amestrian Agent?" one of the younger agents asked even though it was obvious.

"It seems so…" Elaine muttered quietly while she wrapped bandages around a bleeding gash on the forearm. "We have to call the Amestrian Head of security," she said, hiding that her blond counterpart was no one less than her own niece. "She _probably_ wants her agents back if they are injured."

"Yes, madam," the other agent said. "I will call Miss Hawkeye as fast as possible."

Elaine watched how her subordinates left and for a moment, she wondered when she had stopped being a fellow agent to become a legend. Even with her intelligence and her experience the red-haired woman was absolutely unable to decided when she had stopped being human.

The Amestrian agent stirred slightly as she awoke from her nightmare.

"Don't move too fast," the Cretan head of security ordered strictly as she brushed back a sweaty strand of her hair. The missions she had executed without a single second of hesitation twenty years ago were now terrible exhausting and she didn't like this. "We had to stitch the cut on your stomach."

"How … how am I still alive?" the agent asked hoarsely.

"We found you before you could bleed to death," Elaine said calmly while her tattooed fingers toyed with the butterfly knives she carried on a chain at her belt. "The Cretan Secret Service works fast and since I have some good reasons to support the Amestris Fire Lion, we couldn't let you die there. I take it that your mission didn't go the way it was supposed to."

Jane coughed as she sat up. "The mission was complete," she said. "Whatever happened, happened because I got too careless after fulfilling my duty and therefore I am the only one to blame here."

* * *

Serena was alone in her room when Nerissa came home late that day.

"…Rena…" the older sister whispered as she entered the room. It had always been painful for her to see her younger sister this way because as much as Serena had gotten stronger along the years, it had never been enough to protect her from the often depressing reality. Nerissa knew why her sister was blaming herself but maybe it had been time for Serena to fail a mission.

"Nerissa…" Serena said softly as she turned around. "How was your date tonight?"

"Nice … the waiter spilled red wine all over my new dress but I had mama taking care of that," Nerissa said as she sat down on the desk. She wore navy shorts with a golden and white shirt but her hair was still up in her complicate bun while her jewellery sparkled from her neck, her ears and her hands. "You know how much I fail with the easiest household chores, right?"

"Seeing that you ruined twenty of my best white blouses when you did the laundry, it doesn't surprise me," Serena smirked while she sat up and switched on her nightstand lamp. "It seems like your luck regarding your dates is running out again," she chuckled. "And frankly, you wore your baby blue and golden dress, Nessa? Did you ever consider you wear different colours?"

"That coming from you is rich," the older blonde said amused. "Sure, you are wearing other colours as well but as long as I can remember, everything was golden and red with you."

"Blame it on Uncle Berthold that he painted my nursery because our mother was too lazy and dad was on important missions during this time," Serena pouted.

Both sisters had always profited from their excellent genetic heritage. Their amestrian-blond hair was thick and wavy and their bodies were lean and athletic. Huge sapphire eyes made it easy for them to be seen as innocent while sharp minds lured behind perfect smiles and childlike eyes. Considering the fact that both of them could – at least according to Bea – 'wear a simple white curtain instead of a dress and manage to look gorgeous' both sisters tried hard to stay in the background because the last thing the bruised reputation of their family could need now was another scandal.

Just when Nerissa wanted to comment her sister's words, the phone rang and Serena got up from her bed to accept the call. "Serena Hawkeye Hamilton," she said tiredly and for a moment, as the bright lights of a passing car hit her, she seemed older than her sister.

_'This is Hélène Dupont speaking,'_ a soft voice with Cretan accent said shyly. _'Um, Madame Hamilton asked me to inform you that we found an injured agent and we offer you that we bring her home…'_

Serena was silent for a moment while her eyes fell close as she started to go through the names of her agents who were currently working in the western area. She knew that the team of the Cretan Secret Service should be around the town ofLionnenburgat the moment but as far as she was concerned, no agent should be there. She had called everyone back – as far as it had been possible – after the terrible call she had gotten from Agent Stevens. The thing about the tragedy around the brunette agent had been that the last thing she had heard before the connection had been interrupted that someone had entered the room where the agent had called from – and the bitterest thing about it was that Jane Stevens had called to inform her boss about the successful end of the mission. But for that reason, no agent of the Amestris Fire Lion was supposed to be anywhere close to Lionnenburg.

Nerissa next to Serena frowned slightly as her sister froze. _'What is going on?'_ she mouthed.

Serena opened her eyes again before she shook her head to get rid of unbidden thoughts. "Did you identify her, Agent Dupont?" she asked sharply in her all-business-voice.

_'Of course, Madame,'_ the Cretan agent replied. _'According to the dog tags, her name is Jane Stevens.'_

Nerissa watched with raising nervousness how Serena lost her grip on her phone and let it drop to the floor before she fainted. Too much worries and not enough food could do this even to the fearless leader of a powerful secret service. Nerissa sighed deeply before she called for her stepmother and then she picked up the phone. "Nerissa Hawkeye speaking," she said calmly. "What is going on?"

_'Oh, Miss Hawk-e-eye,'_ the Cretan agent stuttered. Nerissa's name was well-known in Creta, not only because she was the heir of a rich and important family but also because she had been the student of Catherina D'Artagan who was a Cretan Heroine – and by now, Nerissa's fame had reached even into the last corners of the western country. _'I merely informed your sister that we found an injured agent.'_

Nerissa's thoughts were unclouded despite the three glasses of heavy aerugian red wine she had had during her birthday diner and as usual, she instantly sobered up when she was faced with a challenge or a mystery she had to solve. This was the reason why she understood faster than any other person would have looked through the complicated web of events. "Agent Jane Stevens, I suppose," she said.

_'Yes, madam,'_ the Cretan agent said. _'What are your orders?'_

"I am going to pick her up myself," the blonde said. "Can I have your location?"

_'O-of course, madame!'_

_Leave it to Nerissa to make professional agents stutter like little girls_, Serena thought as she slowly woke up from her unconsciousness and heard the last words since her ears were especially sharp.

* * *

Roy stopped as he saw the date in his calendar even though it was already very late. The 2nd of October always reminded him of what they had lost. This day had been burned into his mind and his heart because it was the day that reminded him of the woman who had been born thirty-three years ago on this very date. But it also reminded him of those who had fallen alongside with Kay – Lynn, Charles and Martin – and those who had tried to light hope even though despair had been everywhere like Charlotte Llewellyn and Leroy Grumman, the experienced leaders of the past. Roy remembered very well how he had been on a mission with Charles many years ago. The brunette man had sat on the fire while he had smiled. _"When I get home, I am going to hug Kay and tell her how much I love her smile,"_ he said before he had sighed. _"Right now, I really want to change some things … not for myself, never for myself … but for her. She deserves a better life if you ask me … and somehow, I believe that it would make it easier for me … to know that my sacrifices are worthwhile, you know?"_

Roy had known but somehow, he had never understood why Charles had needed a better reason to risk his life than just the good of the country. It had been shortly before they had been brought to Ishbal where everything around them had gone up in flames but maybe, it had been Charles' reason to keep fighting. The older man had been strange in many of his decisions but he had never let go of his goals – something Roy still admired him for because mean like him were really rare nowadays. True, some of them were still there … people like Owen who carried more love in their hearts than twenty regular persons combined … or like his late father who had been a silent hero who had protected his sisters' lives in his own way …

"The date makes me think about all the things I never got the chance to say or ask," Riza said quietly as she stared at the calendar as well. "Maybe, we should really thank them," she went on. "We should say 'Thank you for giving up your lives for us that day."

Roy nodded while he hugged her tightly. "Isn't it ironic? The world will never know which sacrifice they really performed for us," he said darkly, "and the few who know now will be gone soon or they will forget … and still, no one will ever forget their dream."

"And this is exactly the way they wanted it all along," Riza said as she looked into the distance. "It's not the name or the family that matters here. It is just the dream they dreamed for all of us."

"I'd never thought that I would say this one day about our dear birthday girl but … she was really crazy, all along," Roy said. "Her family was her shield while her own reputation was her sword."

For a moment, Riza stopped to think about what he had just said before she slowly nodded. "My father used to say that even though none of us was sane all the time, we were still happy in our own way," she said softly. "Maybe … this was the way our family had to take … and our curse…"

He looked at her while he remembered the members of her family. Her father had been strict and harsh but never unfair and as hard it was to believe, it had been Riza's own choice to carry the tattoo on her back. Reine Hawkeye had been an excellent alchemist but a terrible mother. Nerissa's sanity was to be questioned every second week when she nearly got killed on a mission. Kay had been soft and yet unforgiving towards her had been incredibly gifted and who had died far before the time of her glory and success … she had always cared too much for everything around her while Serena had closed off herself from the world and claimed that she didn't want to know.

* * *

"Who do we have here?" a tall and especially ugly man asked as he grabbed Laila's chin the next day. "The chancellor's little brats came all the way from Central to say hi to me?"

"Not really," Nick said as he slapped away the hand. "We figured out that you were the ones who nearly got my twin killed. And now, we're here to show you what we are made of."

"Scarface said the same before we ruined her face," another man stated calmly. "It was a shame that we had to ruin such a pretty little face but with enough makeup, no one even sees her scar."

"You see that we outnumber you, kids, yes?" the leader said with a dark smirk.

"I don't think that this is a matter of numbers," Laila said slowly while she wiped away the filth from her chin. "Eli over there is pretty good with explosives and she can make everything go 'boom', Nick is a really good tactician and Cai was trained by one of the strongest fighters of Xing. I really advise you to reconsider if you really want this fight."

"The boy over there?" the second man mentioned in the direction of Cai who seemed downright bored. "He looks like he would cave under the slightest blow."

"He won't," Nick said sharply while he raised his head and glared with the power of generations of powerful fighters for the Hamilton- and the Hawkeye-clan likewise had had a lot of famous fighters since the beginnings of their histories … and Nick lived up to this tradition. He dodged the first punch thrown at him before he used his training with far better martial artist to throw the man down. He stepped forwards and dusted of his jacket. "Who's next?" he asked friendly while he found himself next to Elicia who glared as well.

"We are a little bit stronger than normal children of our age," Laila stated calmly while her hands slipped into her gloves. "And we are really angry for what you did to our sister."

"She's the heir of the Hawkeye-family, right?" the leader asked sharply. "Or wait – technically, she is already the head of this disgusting family. And this family is the reason for the pain we suffered!"

"And since when exactly is it the right thing to do to let a little girl pay for things she had never any influence on?" the voice was sharp and cold but for the four children, it was a familiar voice.

"Who the hell are you?" the second man asked angrily. "This is a matter between us and the kids!"

"Me? I'm just a simple housewife who was passing by," Izumi replied as she stepped into the circle.

Elicia tried hard to hold back her laugh but it just made her sound like she was chocking.

"Are you okay?" Nick asked concerned while he rested his hand on his back. "You sound strange…"

She blushed slightly before she nodded. "I can't complain, Nick," she said softly.

"Alright," Izumi said as she crossed her eyes and glared at some of the gangsters. "You say that you have a problem with the Hawkeye-family, right? Care to explain what they did to you?"

"Reine Hawkeye destroyed our whole village! Now, those guys have to pay!"

"You are aware that no member of the Hawkeye-family accepts this woman as one of them?" Cai asked as he thought back of the few conversations this name had came up. Nerissa had denied that this mother had ever been her mother, Serena had claimed that she would have loved to kill her mother with her own hands – much to Edward's terror, by the way – and Riza had said that her aunt had been the most cruel person she had ever met, even worse than Kimblee.

"But this would somehow explain why it always went against Lynn and Victoria instead of Kay and Laila," Elicia said calmly. "The line of the heirs of the knowledge and the power coming with it, right? Kay Hawkeye and Nerissa Hawkeye were disowned for various reasons. Lynn Hawkeye was named the heir of the family afterwards and therefore, Victoria is the heir now. You wanted to kill her."

Nick frowned. "We aren't even that special!" he said.

Izumi looked at him. "Are you crazy, boy?" she asked in disbelief. "You have the longest tradition from all the families which got their fame through their knowledge. Of course are you special! You have more books on dangerous and/or forbidden techniques than any other family!"

"Really?" Laila asked as she looked at the black-haired woman. "I hear this for the first time."

Izumi looked like she wanted to slap herself to check if she was having a nightmare. "Honestly, isn't anyone teaching you kids even the basics about our society?" she asked.

"Give it up," Nerissa said as she brushed back a strand of her long hair. "I mean … no one actually knows everything about the Hawkeye-legacy. We have a lot of dangerous arrays."

The leader of the group moved backwards. "Ne-Nerissa Hawkeye!" he called out. "What…?"

"Did you honestly think that I wouldn't figure out who stole the array I guarded since I was sixteen?" she asked and for someone who stood just between the lines of a lot of very dangerous fighters, she was terribly calm and relaxed. "To be frank, I really wonder how anyone can be dumb enough to mess with me! And now, hand me back my array and maybe I'll let you get away with a blue eye."

Izumi had to hide her smirk. She had never spent much time with the blonde but she had come to the realisation that any relative of Riza Hawkeye had to be stubborn and slightly possessive about their skills. And from what Izumi had seen of Nerissa, it was obvious that this woman meant trouble and pain for whoever was dumb enough to get into her way.

"Too slow," Nerissa said softly while she rolled up her sleeves. "You had your chance."


	2. 166: Coming Home

**Coming Home**

* * *

"…you became stronger, Phil," Jun Li admitted as she picked up her weapons. She was slightly out of breath after their sparring but everyone knew that she had had worse and therefore no one was ever worried that she would overwork herself with her strict training schedule.

"Isn't that exactly the point in training?" he asked while he helped her.

"True," she said with a smile before a slight frown appeared on her face. "Another question … what's going on with your sister these days? Whenever I see her, she looks like she is spending more time in the office than anywhere else. That can't be healthy for her."

"Her schedule is pretty full, I admit this," Phil said with a sigh as he leaned against the wall. "As long as Riza and Roy are on their trip to the western countries, Jade is responsible for everything. Olivier, Ben and the other ministers are supporting her but you know little her."

"Little Miss Overachiever strikes again?" the older woman asked worried. It had become her nature to take care of everything and everyone around her which was the reason why her restaurant had flourished over the years. Jun Li though she had been always pretty had become truly beautiful after her thirtieth birthday. Some said that she had needed this long to grow into her body. She was unusually tall for her Xingese heritage and her blue eyes made many people guess that she was at least half-Amestrian which she wasn't. Her family went back many centuries in Xingese history and she was proud of this long and glorious past. Her midnight-black hair and her moonlike skin made her the embodiment of Xingese beauty while her strong-willed spirit and her longing for freedom had made her one of the most famous fighters in Xing.

"You know it," Phil said while he stared at the sword she just put back into its case. It was a joke among their inner circle that Jun Li never was more than an arm length from her precious weapons away.

"It's not too hard to figure her out after being back-to-back with her in some really dangerous situations we had to fight our way out of at many times," the Xingese woman said while she loosened the bun on top of her head. "Still, sometimes I really wished that time hadn't passed this fast."

"Why would you wish for this?" he asked.

"To be a murderer at twelve is the best way to get to hell," she said drily. "And frankly, I missed out so many things. I mean … I missed my sister's childhood."

"You still blame yourself for the loss of her arm, right? Ling mentioned toRoythat Lan Fan was really surprised when you didn't scold her for this failure…"

"I … I was supposed to be Ling's third guard," Jun Li said quietly while she ran one hand through her hair. "Usually, there are always three guards for a Yao-prince. I was supposed to be his guard for the really dangerous occasions but … I left before he started to test his luck." She shrugged. "But it's not only that. Yes, I blame myself because I was never there when Lan Fan needed me. As much as our grandfather was a genius when it came to weapons, he was terrible with feelings. Looking back, the only thing I remember is how Ling came by our house and dragged her off to the training grounds. As far as I can think of, I just remembered backs turned at me."

"Hey, don't start crying, will you?" he said while he raised his hands.

"And even Cai … the little boy…" she ran one hand through her hair. "These days, he leaves the house in the early hours of the morning … I hardly get to see him nowadays. He is always far away with his thoughts, dreaming of houses he wants to build one day. Sometimes, I feel really depressed when I see him leaving … and that's what I mean when I say that time passed too fast. I seems that one week ago, Ling and Lan Fan clung to my legs when I came home … and that yesterday, Cai tried to avoid being scolded by me whenever he stole a cookie from the jar. And today, I am already taking care of my sister's son. I never had the time to rest and … take it all in."

"My mother complains about the same thing from time to time," Phil said softly."

"Yes," she agreed as they stepped into the sunlight. "Your mother and I, we belong to the same generation. We are the generation that saw the pain, the generation that wanted to help and made it worse. We are the ones who are afraid of losing the bruised peace we found in the ruins and we refuse to return to the real world and yet, I am glad whenever I can laugh with the ones who did the right thing at the right thing for I wasn't allowed to do so."

"You are crazy."

"I am not crazy," she said. "I merely saw far too much over the years. And now that the time is slipping through my fingers, I try to capture every minute I have still left even though I can't capture the feeling in it. And sometimes, I really wish that I would see what they are thinking, Cai and Fu, but every time I believe that I figured them out, they go and grow a little bit more."

"You sound like a mother."

"To Cai, I am the only mother he ever knew. I am the woman who sat with him at the breakfast table when we were too tired to speak properly. And now, I want to slap myself because I allowed precious time to go to waste while I sat there, nearly asleep."

"You did a great job. You raised him to be a fine man," Phil said as they walked down the street to their respective houses. "Mom always says that she felt melancholy whenever I went away and dad said that he always felt guilty when he wanted Jade to stay because it would hold her back."

"I just wonder what happened to all the wonderful adventures and the places I wanted to visit with Cai before he would grow up on me," she said. "Well, we saw some of them but most we didn't and I don't even know why."

"Because sometimes, life doesn't go how we want it to do," Phil shrugged. "Mom always says that she wants to freeze the pictures. She isn't afraid of age because when she and dad still travelled, they met many very old warriors who were still a challenge when she sparred with them but she also says that she hates the funny tricks of time. She wants the moment to go on forever."

"Don't we all wish for this?" she asked as she stepped towards her house. "The moments we treasure are usually the moments which are – when we look back – the shortest."

* * *

"…so, it seems like it's good now," Max Knox said as he had read the report before he looked up to smile at Victoria who seemed to be unusually nervous. "You are a really lucky girl, Victoria."

"I know," she said as she nodded seriously. She had always known that she was – despite her many accidents and losses – one of the luckiest persons the world had ever seen because whenever she had fallen down, someone had been there to help her. She remembered countless hours she had cried after her parents' death while Gracia had been there, just to hold her and to stroke her hair. She remembered how scared she had been when she had been told – at the age of seven – that it was her duty now to protect the knowledge of her family but back then, Uncle Maes had been there to tell her that he would help her because they were family. Victoria valued her family above everything else because even though they were all different and unique, they were still alike and the same dream was always on their minds. Sometimes it was hard to see, even forVictoria, because as much as everyone else, she was often caught between who she was and who she wanted to be one day. But whenever she had felt lonely and whenever she had needed a friend on her side, someone had been there to catch her. She remembered her mother's wise words: _"Always remember, Vicky, every new beginning is the end of another, once new beginning." _Lynn's wisdom was still unreached and frankly, no one had ever tried to steal the title as the wisest woman Amestris had ever seen.

Victoria was proud of where she was now because she had made something out of her life and whenever she felt like there was nothing more she could be, she looked up to the stars and decided that there were many things left to do before she would join her parents.

"Did you hear anything from your aunt?" Max asked while he washed his hands. "The last thing I heard of her was that she collapsed. I told her that she was overworking herself."

"Grandmother Catherina makes sure that Serena stays in bed," Victoria said amused. "And no one who has still a little bit sanity left would ever dare to cross her ways. She can be pretty scary sometimes."

"I just hope that your aunt doesn't overwork herself ever again," the doctor said with a worried expression on his face. "It's not good for her if she works this hard. I mean … she has enough agents who would gladly help her with her problems, you know?"

"You seem to know the agents really good…" the girl said while her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Most of them are my patients and they often voice their worries regarding your aunt to me because many of them seem to believe that Serena and I are dating."

"I know, I know," the redhead nodded. "But you aren't dating … yet…"

"You are the last person I expected to get involved," he sighed. "And don't mention it to Serena."

"Oh, she knows," Victoria chuckled. "Edward just had to go and tease her with this topic."

"He has to have a death wish," Max said as he frowned.

"I believe he just thinks that he's funny," she shrugged.

"And that doesn't make it any better," he replied.

A nurse knocked and entered silently. "Doctor, Agent Stevens was just admitted to ward 11," she said before she disappeared again, probably to tend to the injured agent.

"Hey, Vicky!" Nick said as he appeared in the room with a blue bruise around his left eye.

Her eyes widened in terror. "Nick, what … what the hell happened?" she asked worried.

"Nothing too serious," he said amused. "We just went and beat up the guys who did this to you. Cai broke the small finger on his left hand and Laila sprained her ankle. All in all, we are fine."

Suddenly, a dark and ominous aura appeared around the fragile girl. "Niiiick…." she growled.

"Sorry, Vicky, but we couldn't let get them away with that," Laila said as she entered on her crutches. "And honestly, even though I got hurt, I'd do it all over again if I had the choice. It was really great to feel how the nose of that one guy gave in when I punched him. Sure, Nessa and Izumi had to appear and ruin our fun but we would have made it without their help as well."

"You really missed an awesome fight," Cai who had supported her grinned at Victoria. "You should have seen me, Vicky. I totally got that one guy with the awesome kunai technique Jun-Jun showed me. You know, the one I never got right during the lessons. It totally worked this time."

"Guys," Victoria said dangerously calmly. "Give me just one good reason why I shouldn't shatter your bones right now for being to freaking reckless…"

Elicia smiled brightly at her. "Because we are your friends?" she tried.

"Good point."


	3. 167: Going East

**Going East**

* * *

Fu was busy with his homework when Jun Li returned from her training session and even though he wasn't easily distracted because he had inherited his mother's calm and attentive demeanour, he raised his head and looked at his guardian. He really, really liked Jun Li even though she wasn't half as awesome as his precious Victoria-sama. Jun Li was a great fighter, he would give her this, but she lacked the understanding for the inner agony of the people around her.  
_Maybe it is_, he mused, _because she had spent too many years on causing said inner agony.  
_He had no illusions about his guardian's past. He had watched her during her training many times and he had seen which distanced and cold expression her usually warm and kind face had whenever she worked on her skills. She was a training fanatic – just like Edward or Jade. Still, as much as Fu loved his aunt as much he feared her.

"Fu," she stated as she put down her bag with her training clothes. "How are you today?"

He shrugged before he smiled. "I just finished my homework," he announced. "Can I play outside now?"

"Sure," she said before she crossed to the couch where she fell asleep in less than a minute.

He watched her for a moment before he turned to leave. He had learned that sometimes, she needed a little bit time for herself to stay sane and he knew when he had to leave her alone. She was a good teacher for the cruel reality of life in Xing and the prince respected her for the sometimes harsh way she reminded him of the truth that waited for him at home. She was wonderful and he loved her like an older sister, a wise person who could teach him the ways of the world. And at the same time, he always understood why the people of Xing had feared her for such a long time. She could be scary when she was mad at someone – Cai would second this statement at anytime.

Jun Li opened her eyes moments after Fu had left and got up from the couch before she washed her face and her body. She took her white dress with the golden dragon on the back before she made her way to the graveyard of the Xingese Community in Central City. And there she stood – just like a white lily among weeds. She never shared her grief with the other Xingeses who came to mourn _Lei Wu_ who had been the owner of the Golden Dragon and the fonder and leader of their community. They stood in neat lines and their silken clothes shimmered in the faint light. Most Xingeses in Amestris wore expensive clothes and Jun Li often wondered how they could pay for it. But as different as they all seemed to be, they wore the same colour. White. Sometimes, it was a beautiful colour, innocent and pure. At other days, it was the colour of sorrow, of loss.

When Jun Li looked close enough, she could make out the different clans the Xingeses in Amestris originally belonged to. It was easy for her because she had spent so many years at the Imperial Court where all the clans were assembled. And anyway, the different clans stood closer to each other than to a person from another clan – as if to avoid a contagious illness. Most of them held lilies in their hands. Lilies – as any flower – could be the symbol of love, devotion and beauty but this time, the lilies were white and they were a sign of respect, in the memory of the man who had died many months ago.

Jun Li heard soft footsteps behind her and she looked over her shoulder even though she knew who had had the nerve to follow her to this place. Lei had always been her shadow in times of loss and pain but unlike all the other times, he said nothing this time while he looked at his father's grave.

The silence around them was a heavy weight and it pulled her down, Jun Li decided. It was like a veil that couldn't be lifted and therefore continued to interfere with her vision. The air around her tasted of grief – bitter and unrelenting. She hated moments like this.

Her husband moved forward and left her alone with her darkness – just like she needed it to be because she had never been big on sharing her feelings with anyone but her sister, a long time ago. And while Lei kneeled down to pray, Jun Li stayed where she was, who she was. She watched the same way she had watched before she had come to Amestris, attentive yet distanced.

She was a former warrior of Xing. She fought for her homeland and found her strength in the loving and warm arms of her family. Even now after a loss that had taken so much from her, she was strong because she knew that failure had never been an option for her and she wouldn't make it one now.

After a moment of silent thoughtfulness, she stepped forward to take her place next to her husband.

"So, you decided?" Lei asked quietly while she folded her hands and kneeled down next to him.

"I decided," she said slowly while she inhaled the familiar scent of the lilies.

"You are going to accept the mission," he stated because to him, it had never been a question.

"Yes," she said softly while she closed her eyes. "This mission requests an agent who knows Xing like the back of his or her hand. Xing is the country where I've been born. I am taking the mission."

"I thought that you never wanted to return because the pain would kill you," he commented.

"Sometimes, you have to overcome your fears," she said wisely.

* * *

"…I would lie if I would say that I didn't expect this," Serena said slowly as she looked at the injured woman in the hospital bed in front of her. "And maybe, this is the best thing you can do right now."

"I don't want to seem like a coward, madam, but my cover is blown and the enemy knows my face. I lost any value I used to have as an agent," Stevens said from underneath the bandages around her face.

"So, what will you do now?" the blond head of security inquired. "As hard as it may sound: you know too many secrets of this state to leave the governmental organisations all together."

"I return to my roots," the woman said softly. "I will return to the military. I don't want to stop fighting for the state I believe in after all I went through."

"You are a very brave woman, Stevens," Nerissa said from behind her sister. "I respect this decision."

But then again, Nerissa had always been the one to accept while Serena had been the one to make everything far more difficult than it should be. Still, Nerissa loved her messed-up little sister and would find no rest before she had found the right one for Serena because even the woman who claimed to need no man to share the way with her needed someone to laugh with her. And Nerissa was – along with everyone else who knew Serena – sure that the right man for the Princess of Eternal Winter was Doctor Knox – junior, of course.

* * *

Cai had always been the calm and kind boy in their little group but sometime, he shared his older brother's impatience – and to wait twenty minutes in front of Laila's room when she had said 'give me five minutes to get ready' was something that could annoy him greatly because he hated to wait.

"Lai," he shouted as he knocked once more. "Can you please hurry up?"

"Don't be like that!" she yelled back. "I can't find my necklace and without it, I refuse to go outside!"

The necklace had been a present from Nick to her birthday and while she forgot where she had put it every other day, it was also the necklace she always wore when she went out with Cai.

"You can forget this date anyway," Victoria said as she passed the Xingese boy. "You're far too late."

Sometimes, the black-haired boy suspected that she was slightly jealous because Owen was buried in work these days because so many things happened at the same time and it was difficult to decide who was responsible for which incident and therefore it had been weeks since Owen had taken Victoria out for dinner or a walk in the park while Cai and Laila had a date every second day.

"You're right," Cai admitted before he looked at her. "How are you doing anyway, Vicky?"

"Busy," she said while she put down the stack of books for a moment. "What about you?"

"I am working on a design for a new library because Ling wants to do something for the education."

"That sounds really great," she said before she waved and disappeared into the kitchen – probably to get some more lemons. Cai had the suspicion that she needed them to stay awake when she was doing her time-consuming studies. But this was the reason why she and Owen were such a great couple: both of them were terrible workaholics and they tried to avoid their time of rest as far as possible. Every once in a while, Laila, Nick, Elicia and Cai met up and wondered if the workaholic2 – their nickname for the duo of hard-working teenagers – would ever have the time to tie the knot. Nick always sighed at his sister's behaviour but frankly, it was how she would always be because she often said that if fate didn't favour someone, hard work was the only way out of the misery.

Laila often complained about her sister's terrible lack in interest for anything but her work, her family and her boyfriend because according to the blonde, there was a whole world Victoria had never attempted to conquer: the world of fashion. As an artist, Laila searched for beauty and while she was far from superficial, she still wanted the ones who were especially close to her to take part in the beauty around them – and a certain redhead had refused to do so for many years by now. Elicia had far more patience with them and swore that Victoria would be probably the first to walk down the aisle because in the end, she had always been the first in everything and it would be a surprise if it would be different this time. And Cai had decided that he would allow the red-haired guardian of the Hawkeye-legacy to marry first because Fu would never stop bothering him if he wouldn't let Victoria be the first to marry.

Finally, Laila appeared. Her hair was down and she wore a white hair band while her dress was pastel yellow. She was someone for soft colours, Cai had always seen this. "Hey," she said before she looked at the floor. "I am sorry for wasting so much time, Cai. I just couldn't find the necklace."

He chuckled before he wrapped one arm around her waist to hug her tightly. "No problem," he said. "It means that I don't have to explain Jun-Jun why I didn't take you to one of her restaurants, Lai."

She smiled. "Vicky was kind enough to let you in, right?" she asked.

"She seems pretty busy these days. I hardly see her in town. Usually, I always meet her at the coffee shop around eleven o'clock but I haven't seen her there in two weeks," he shrugged. "Anyway, let's take a walk in the park, alright? It's a beautiful evening today and the air is fresh."

"Sure," she said and grabbed his hand before they left the house.

* * *

For Jun Li, it meant a lot of work to prepare for this mission.

It meant to return to the black suit she had worn a long time ago. It meant to trade the brassieres she usually wore for chest bindings which she had always loathed. It meant to leave her kitchen and her restaurants to enter the battlefield one more time. As she stood in front of her mirror, she sighed deeply. She looked terrible young in her own eyes as she stood in her bedroom with her wide black pants and the stark white chest bindings. Her hair was bound to a Cretan braid and she slammed the heavy ring made of jade which had been a present from her old master against the palm at her hand before she added it to her hairstyle. She stared at her marred shoulders for a moment before she grabbed her black shirt and pulled it over her head. The dark grey dragons on both sides were nearly invisible but it didn't matter because she had a huge golden dragon on the back of her jacket because as a former bodyguard of the Dragon Emperor how many had called Jun Yao, she was a Dragon Warrior and the pattern reappeared on her shirts, on her dresses – and her mask. She carefully took the fragile item from the box where she had stored it for so many years while she had worked hard for the reputation of an honourable woman while in reality, she had always been a perfect killer. Maybe not as perfect as Jade but more than sufficient either way.

She remembered her conversation with Serena considering this mission and she knew why she had been chosen: she knew how Xing worked, she spoke the language and as one of the legendary Dragon Warriors, she had some kind of popularity and influence which could be useful. Jun Li knew that this wasn't the full truth. She had been chosen because she was quick with the weapons which were typical for the area and in case that she had to kill, no one would suspect the Amestris Fire Lion because it was a secret that Jun Li had applied for a position there. (The Eye of Xing which she had worked for before bemoaned, in fact, still the day she had left the country to become the owner of a restaurant because even though she had never accepted this herself, she had always been one of the best.)

Lei stopped behind his wife as he entered the room and kissed her cheek. "You are sure that you want this?" he asked carefully while he hugged her tightly.

"This is my chance to prove that I am more than just a name and a memory," she said. "I am not vain and you know this better than anyone else but if I don't want to be forgotten, I need this mission."

"I understand," he said because it was everything left to say. Their relationship had never been a loud one. They preferred silent signs of affection and gazes which told more than thousand words. It was what was left after all the years they had had to hide their love. They had became far too good in telling each other everything with a simple gesture. It had saved their lives many times that they had never needed words because a word was to be heard. To be heard meant to be killed.


	4. 168: Crescent Moon

**Crescent Moon**

* * *

The crescent moon shined silver above the mountains of Xing as the woman in black stopped to look over her old country. She had left without the intention to return and yet, here she was and a sound of bittersweet nostalgia swayed through the air as the flutes in the nearby village played. For a moment, she enjoyed the cool air of the starry night before she took off her mask to allow the air to cool her hot cheeks. She had been travelling the whole day and the whole night because she had had the intention to reach the village where she had been born with the first sunrays in the morning but luck had been with her for once and so she had reached it three hours after midnight. She wondered briefly why the villagers where still celebrating at such a late hour before she recognised the sweet sounds of a wedding dance mixed with the harsher tones of a traditional song which was usually played whenever the oldest son of a family took his father's place and became the head of the family.

The woman in black smiled as she remembered her old village and took off her black jacket before she traded her pants for a red skirt. It wasn't part of her mission but her instinct told her that she had to attend this celebration. She hid her warrior clothes and her weapons in her bag as she entered the village. It had been more than ten years since she had been here but nothing had changed. With a frown, she noticed that one half of the colourful banner showed the crest of the Wei-family … the family she came from. She forced herself to stay calm and relaxed because there was a logical and more than satisfying solution for this strange thing. If one of her many cousins was to be wed today, it was just natural for her crest to be seen everywhere after all.

But as the woman in black and red reached the centre of the village, she saw her male cousin Chao who had always envied her position as heir of the family and it was no problem for the woman to realise what she had just walked into: her cousin was about to steal the title from her and even though she had never showed much interest in this position, she was not keen on being robbed.

The crowd made room for her to walk forward to the pedestal where her rival was about to grab the ring of the family. For a moment, the true heir stopped and frowned before she took a kunai from her boot and threw it with the accuracy she had worked for so hard. The kunai flew right through the circle and pinned the ring to the wooden wall behind Chao who turned around.

"I don't appreciate your efforts to steal my title, cousin," the woman said darkly as she grabbed a new kunai. "You may wish to surpass me but this will always be just that: a wish and a dream."

Their fathers had set them up to their rivalry the moment they had been named. The woman had been named Jun Li because her father had chosen when he had believed that he would be blessed with a son. He had hoped for a warrior and so he had given her a name with the meanings 'talented ruler', 'logic' and 'strength' while her mother had approved because in case that the child would be a girl, the name would have been the same with different meanings like 'supreme' and 'beautiful'. Her cousin on the other side had been named Chao with the meaning 'surpass' but up to now, he had never been able to surpass his female cousin.

They had been raised side by side because the girl had been merely a month younger but Chao had never been able to outsmart or trick his cousin who had fought him with fair yet harsh means during their more or less friendly spars.

"It's an honour to have you here today, most honourable cousin," Chao said seriously while he grabbed the rapier on his side. "Too bad that it's my position now, Jun Li."

She smirked at him as she drew her own sword. "Our family was always led by the strongest fighter of a generation, right?" she asked calmly as she moved forward in a catlike and fluid motion. "And since I doubt that you could ever be the stronger fighter out of us, I challenge you, Chao."

"You are a madwoman if you really believe that you can still beat me, Jun Li," he replied. "But I accept your challenge, most honourable cousin. I heard that you became a rich little housewife in the West."

"Maybe," she replied while she walked towards a training ground. "Be careful with your white robe, cousin. We don't want any stains, do we?"

"And are you sure about your pretty skirt?" he asked haughtily as they slipped into their stances.

"I fought in prettier clothes before," she said with a shrug as she grabbed her sword tighter. There was no way she could lose. She had a reputation to defend – and the honour of her family. She was the oldest granddaughter of Fu Wei who had been known not only in Xing but also in Amestris where he had fallen protecting Emperor Ling Yao. She was the daughter of Cai Wei who had died to protect Emperor Jun Yao. And she had spent the longest part of her life protecting the same emperor her father had served before her. She had an incredibly high social status in her old village because many of her glorious missions and famous fights.

* * *

Victoria sat in her bed while she counted the stars above her head. It was a silent and strangely cool night in early October. Her fingertips carefully danced across the area where Max had injected the antidote as she wondered why she was such a lucky person. Ever since her infancy, she had gotten out of the cold grasp of death by seconds. She had been far luckier than her parents who had become a faint memory by now. She sighed deeply as she tried to remember her mother's smile without seeing Riza in front of her eyes. It was bitter that she had forgotten but then again, Lynn and Martin had died ten years and three months ago. She knew that she would eventually run out of luck but somehow, she hoped that it would take some more years before she would fall forever. She wasn't ready to die yet because she was too stubborn and too keen on healing her country completely. Roy was a strategist, no healer but she was a healer and a strategist because she had taken after Lynn and Martin.

"You really should sleep," Nick said as he slipped out of the shadows.

"And you should stop sneaking up on me," she replied while she turned around. "You got better."

"Thanks," he smiled as he sat down next to her. "So, what's on your mind today, big sister?"

"It seems like everything is moving too fast for me to follow," she said. "Cretan rebels endanger the western area of Amestris and since they are on our side of the border, the Cretan Secret Service can't do anything without asking for permission first…"

For a moment, the twins sat there in perfect silence before Victoria opened her mouth but right afterwards, she shook her head and closed it again before she looked down.

"What is it, Vicky?" her brother asked softly before he brushed back a strand of her hair.

"Sometimes, I really wonder if the choices I made were the right ones," she said. "I decided to follow the call and to make it my goal to be the chancellor one day. I decided to heal this country because the most of the ones who used to have the power to make the difference are dead or without any influence now. Dad, Ling and Miss Elaine Hamilton are only ones with the ambition and the chance…"

"You worry that you might fail, right?"

"Yeah."

"You will never fail, Victoria." Nick wrapped an arm around her before he placed a kiss on her temple. "It's a feeling deep inside of me, you know? I … I can nearly see you, Vicky. I can already see you in a pretty black dress with a purple scarf during your assumption of office. You have the right spirit but you didn't change a bit since the last time you took an exam: you always doubt yourself when it comes to the important things. You need to accept that sometimes, even the brightest of us made the wrong decisions. There is always a certain risk in life, you know, and not everything can be perfect."


	5. 169: Of Cousins

**Of cousins**

* * *

Jun Li lay on her back and looked up to the stars above her while she cried bitter tears of pain and defeat. She had reached the end of her wisdom and her skill. She had no idea why she should fight any longer because she saw no reason in this fight and she saw no deeper meaning in her existence. She coughed up blood as she fought against the invisible chains that tied her down and she picked up the kunai she had dropped when the sword had pierced her side. She would keep holding on – even if she was all alone … she wouldn't throw it all away now. She knew that one day, she would see a reason in this fight and later on, she would realise that everyone faced such a situation sooner or later. Her eyes needed a moment to focus again after her vision blackened when new pain ran through her body. She stumbled because Chao had forced her down on her knees. He was like a mighty storm and until now, she had tried to be an oak when she should have been bamboo. But now, she would face the storm in her own way. She would put up a fight for herself – for the first time in her life, she would stand up for herself. She looked at the sky above her as she kept herself on her feet by resting her weight on her sword. She had often seen dark clouds above her when she had faced strong opponents but she had learned that they would go away sooner or later.

And as she staggered forward with her last remaining strength, she remembered the words of her old emperor: _'Always get back up, Jun Li. No matter if you are on the ground, no matter if you lost a fight. Get up because it will be better soon enough … you will always remember this!'_

She smirked darkly as she looked at her cousin. _'It's hard'_, she decided, _'hard not to lose your own way because all these laws and rules make it nearly impossible to do your own thing because you quickly became a traitor if you do so. And I want to have a life I can respect all the time.'_

She wasn't naïve enough to believe that anyone still believed that she could win this fight. The odds were against her and no one would bet a single cenz on her. But she wasn't here to prove anything to anyone. She was here to prove to herself that she was still someone who could fight her own battles. She wiped away the blood from her face while a smile slowly formed on her face because there was no need for panic if the worst thing that could happen was that she would die from the hands of a loser and fool. She steadied her trembling body and glared at the ground she was standing on before she looked up where the dark sky had no limits and eternal freedom seemed to await her. Jun Li had always been a dreamer which was hardly becoming for a warrior with her skill and reputation. And yet, she had lived for her hopes and dreams. She had fought for a better Xing and while she had protected Jun Yao, the general situation in her country had improved greatly. Happiness was worthless in her eyes when it was just achievable for some people and not for everyone. In her eyes, everyone deserved happiness.

And then, as she charged at Chao, she heard her father's voice: _'C'mon, girl, and do this.'_

Chao's eyes narrowed when her trembling stopped and she stood in front of him after he had avoided her attacked. Jun Li had always been a stubborn and bossy woman but even for her standards, it was very rare that she forced herself to mistreat her body this badly just because she didn't want to lose. Then again, she had changed since the last time he had seen her. Her eyes had gotten colder than they used to be and somehow, he felt that deep inside of her, the dreams and the hopes still existed. And that was when he finally came to understand. It was when her silent tears of bitterness and regret ran down her pale cheeks and her eyes screamed: "It's not me, Chao! No, I am not the one to blame, it's you! It's you how it has always been you!"

And she was right.

It had always been him who had kindled their rivalry when she had searched for peace and harmony in her own family. And as he looked around and searched for silent support, he saw so many unspoken words in so many faces and he knew, he just knew that they were all as ashamed as he was because there was no sense in playing any games even though it was all he could still do because even though his cousin could hardly stand on her own feet, she had won. It was over, everything. When he had refused to give her what was rightfully hers, he had broken the last bridge between them. They had had a chance to make it, to be friends once more but he had wasted it. He wished that he could take it back and go back to the time when he had played with Jun-Jun in the fields around the village but it was over, no matter how much it hurt him to admit this. He had lost himself in all the fights against her. He had wanted to surpass her too badly and in the end, he paid the price: he had lost the feeling for right and wrong. And as he realised this, bitter tears of remorse and a broken heart ran down his cheeks. The pain inside his chest was nearly impossible to bear for him and a part of him just wanted to crawl into his bed to hide from the cruel reality of the world around him – the reality he created. And somehow, he saw now that his whole life since she had left the village had been built on a lie.

Since … there had never been a way for Chao Wei to surpass Jun Li Wei.

And for a moment, he wanted to throw away the wrong and faked life he had lived but once more, his pride let him astray because it just couldn't allow him to let it die even though he was falling apart. He had won the battle but Jun Li had won the war, rendering his first and last victory over her useless and unnecessarily cruel. He looked at her and remembered a better time, a time when he had begged her not to tell him that this short period of peace wouldn't last forever because even though it had been obvious to him as well, he had never wanted to hear it. And just like back then, she broke his heart today once more. There had been a time when they had been teenagers, that he had had a crush on her for various reasons – that she could throw kunai properly and never complained about broken fingernails were just two out of many more. But she had gone and broke his heart when she had fallen for Lei Yao, the youngest son of emperor Jun Yao. She had denied that she loved the prince for years but as much as Chao had wanted to believe her, he had known her far too long to believe her lies.

And when he had walked in on them kissing, he had felt betrayed. This had been the reason why he forced himself to hate her for so many years. He had known that there would have been a way for them to settle the inheritance argument between their fathers and he had known that she had known it as well. If the both prodigies of the Wei-family had married, they could have led the family together and many strong children could have been born. She had run away. She had flown her responsibility.

He dropped his weapons as he fell down to his knees. "I … I apologise, Jun-Jun," he whispered.

She collapsed as well, finally allowing the pain to overpower her. "It's not over," she muttered softly and he knew that these words were meant just for his ears. "It's never over as long as you keep holding on to the moment and don't allow fate to take you away."

He smiled as she fell against his chest, staining his robes with her blood as well as it mixed with his own. "It's not over, yes," he agreed softly. "It's never over unless you allow fate to break you down."

It was ironic that they had had to kill each other's hopes before they could forgive the betrayal of their relative. Chao held his cousin as she cried bitter tears – tears she had never shed before because she had felt too guilty to cry – and he gently stroked her silky hair. She had always had the prettiest hair in the whole village and it was good to know that this had never changed. Jun Li's fingers grabbed the silken jacket of her cousin as she allowed him to hold her while she cried. As she felt something moist on her head, she knew that she was crying as well but she wouldn't comment on this because his tears were special – and something very personal to him.

* * *

Riza couldn't sleep as she stared at the crescent moon she could see from the window in the little living room of the hotel suite where they stayed. The memories were haunting her again. She had been so sure that it was finally over because she just didn't want to remember anything that pained her this much. But no matter how much she tried, she would always remember that evening. She would never forget the look in Kay's eyes when she had said goodbye for the last time. She would never forget the unshed tears in the deep green eyes – just like she would never forget the cruel words and the false accusations Roy had yelled when he had heard that Kay was going to leave the country. Sometimes, she wondered why Kay had said nothing to his words, his glares and everything else. Maybe, so Riza believed, Kay had seen it as his last chance to voice the same old frustrations she had voiced when he had left for the military and she had been angry enough with him to punish him with total silence.

But some things would never change.

Without Kay, Riza would always lack someone she had known and loved all her life. Without Kay, Riza would never be as complete and happy as she used to be as a teenager. She remembered the last words Kay had spoken with Lynn who had never understood the decision despite her intelligence. _'This isn't an apology, Lynn-Lynn, because you don't want one. This is goodbye, simple yet bittersweet.'_

But everyone who knew Kay, who really had known her had heard her unspoken words as well: '_And yet, I am sorry. I am sorry for being too lost in my own world when you needed me. I am sorry for being too hurt to be healed when you wanted to help me because this destroyed a part of you. I am sorry for losing against my demons, sorry for being not strong enough to be the older sister I should have been. I am tired and I apologise for this as well because you tried so hard to wake me when I was drowning in my nightmares. And it's you who brought me out of my confusion and so I have to apologise for being someone I am not really right now."_

Riza remembered Lynn's shocked expression but like all Hawkeye-women, the silver-haired one had done the right thing: she had fought her way back to her own battlefield after she had been thrown away by her sister. Riza and Lynn had always been similar in a slightly eerie way. No matter how scared or frightened they had been, they had always returned to their lives. Both had lost an older sister when Kay had left but both had gotten back onto their feet right afterwards because there had been no sense in mourning the ruins of a sisterhood that had helped them to stay sane for so many years. And even if Kay had tried to get them down, she would never have been successful because both Lynn and Riza who had been – let's face the facts – abandoned by the only woman they had ever called big sister … both of them had been patient and they had waited until they had been found and brought back to the surface where the sun shone brightly for them.

And still, it was alright in a way. The betrayal – because Kay's departure had been nothing else – had never stood between them. Riza hadn't allowed this lone moment of Kay's weakness to stain the memory of her cousin. Kay had been great and something like this could be forgiven. Riza had never gotten to hate her cousin because hatred would have pulled her down and she was a Hawkeye, they owned the sky and she needed to be light and free of hatred to fly.

* * *

Laila stood on her window and looked out into the garden when she spotted Nick and Victoria. They sat in the grass and stared at the stars above them. It was a beautiful night, the older girl admitted, and for a moment she thought about joining them before she realised that this conversation, no matter how unimportant it seemed to her, was one of the few moments the twins could share with each other and no one else. Laila watched them as they sat there in silence while Victoria wore her brother's shirt. She was more sensitive to the cold than most people but as she leaned against her brother, she could probably feel the warmth radiating from his body seeping through her clothes. They were stargazing again, Laila decided as she switched off the light on her nightstand as she made her way to the piano. She sat down and allowed her fingers to dance across the keys before she stroked back her hair and started to play. The song she played was Victoria's current favourite and as usual, it was sad and sweet at the same time because Victoria's story had always been one of pain and loss.

But as long as she had Nick, her world would never crash down again because she knew everything about him and from what Laila knew, she would never want to live without him because he was her second half. She was just another girl with him, one that tried to live in a crazy world. To everyone else, she was someone great and special. To her brother, she was just a girl.

To Owen, she was healer and it was good that way because he was broken and she had made him whole again. He needed someone to heal this broken heart and his loneliness. He needed her. He needed someone who would always be there, someone who would never abandon him because she would never stop caring. She closed the wound at his neck and yet she healed him completely. He needed her because he had never truly believed that someone could – or would – heal him or that someone would willingly be there for him.

To Cai, she was a goddess-on-earth with the fiery temperament to match. She was strong and sometimes moody – especially when things weren't going the way she wanted them to go and so she defied fate to get everything the way she wanted them. Cai needed her to be a goddess because he was too smart and too sarcastic to accept any other kind of leader – and just like everyone else, he saw Victoria as a leader and because he wanted to be able to respect her, he made a goddess out of her … that she had survived a grave illness made it easier for him to believe that she was immortal.

To Laila, she was a warrior and that was all she had to be. Some called her a fragile petal in the wind, a fair maiden – some even dubbed Victoria the prettiest girl of Central which annoyed Laila slightly. But she needed her sister to be a warrior because she needed a comrade, something she could fight with – someone who wouldn't _break_. Laila needed a warrior because she hadn't believed in them. Now she did because it was impossible not to believe in Victoria.

To Nick, she was just a girl and that was all she had to be. He didn't need her to be a healer because he wasn't broken. And when he had been broken, a long time ago, Elicia had healed him. Every wound Victoria's illness had caused had scarred when the younger girl had whispered _'But I love you' _and the scars had been gone when she had said _'But I need you'_.

He also didn't need Victoria to be a goddess. He wasn't even sure if he deserved one. She was his sister and that gave him to permission to admire her even though she was far from being divine. She was mortal – he knew this just too well because unlike Cai, he never glorified her fight against the illness. She was good but not perfect. It was better thing way.

Nick didn't need a warrior. He needed someone he could protect and no matter how much Laila claimed that Victoria was strong and invincible, Nick begged to differ. She was not invincible no matter how much he wished for the contrary. But maybe, it was better this way because he wanted someone he could protect. He needed Victoria because she was soft in her own way and she allowed him to protect her even though she hated it more than anything else. And Nick never had to hide his tears, his secrets or his deepest fears because Victoria always knew. Maybe this was the secret behind their silent conversation. Maybe they said nothing because there was no reason to speak anymore.

When Nick was upset, Victoria's eyes lost their gleam and she started to radiate a gloomy aura because she could never laugh when he was crying. It also worked the other way around. Nick could never be happy when Victoria was suffering. When she had been ill, he had started to fade away as well – nearly as if he had been preparing to follow her when she would become a star like her parents.

Victoria drove Nick crazy every day they spent together but when she wasn't there, he missed her while he still tried to tell himself that he could be without her. Laila, however, knew that Nick would lose everything if he would lose Victoria because they were one.

With Victoria, Nick could be only himself and everyone he wanted to be because as two parts of the same soul, they felt always comfortable around each other because the other one would always understand and never ask any questions if it wasn't needed.

And somehow, no matter how much they argued and no matter how many times they tried to leave each other behind, they stayed together. It was like they were two magnets that attracted each other to the point that whenever one of them was missing, the other lost the ability to function.


	6. 170: Amestris Creta Xing Aerugo

**Amestris Creta Xing Aerugo**

* * *

Fu Yao, son of the Emperor and the Empress of Xing, had inherited both, his father's goofiness and his mother's serious attitude. But somehow, he took after Jun Li in one major aspect: he had searched (and found) someone he could dedicate his very being to, someone he would always be loyal to. And this someone was – not that anyone had been surprised – Victoria Hawkeye-Hamilton or – for those who had to listen to Fu's ramblings about the older girl – Victoria-sama.

Jun Li was worried and she usually was far too relaxed to worry seriously.

Lei was worried and he was usually far too concentrated on his work to notice anything.

Cai was worried and he was usually far too busy with admiring Laila to care for anything else.

Everyone who knew the boy was worried because it was hardly becoming for a future emperor to adore a foreigner this much. But as long as their son was happy, neither Lan Fan nor Ling saw a reason to act against this because their children's happiness was the most important thing to them.

But his uncle Lei still showed the same over-protectiveness towards Fu as Jun Li had showed around Ling and Lan Fan when they had been younger.

"Fu," he said calmly as he sat down on the couch.

"Yes, Uncle Lei?" the boy asked politely.

"I'll say nothing against Victoria," the older prince began softly, "but isn't Victoria-sama too formal?"

"I don't think so," Ling's son said while he brushed back a strand of his black hair. "She is the chancellor's daughter and the future chancellor after all."

"You don't show the same amount of respect when you talk to the Duchess of Artagan, do you?"

"There is a difference, something I can't name."

"I understand," Lei sighed and he really did. "But why can't you just call her Vicky like everyone else?"

"Because she deserves more than this," Fu stated.

"Surely," Lei muttered while he began to understand why his wife had refrained from involving herself with this problem. "But why don't you make up a nice nickname for her?"

"You really think that this would be a smart idea, Uncle Lei?"

"Of course," he said while his mind drifted away. He was worried about Jun Li. He knew that there was no logical reason why he should worry about her. She was one of the best warriors Xing had ever had after all and there was hardly someone outside her family who could even dream about beating her. But this reminded him of his old friend and rival: Chao Wei who just happened to be Jun Li's cousin and old enemy because Xing had always been full of rivalry between those who came from the same blood. Not only the emperors' many children fought each other for the throne but also the children of the most important warrior families attempted to kill each other to get the place as the heir. Jun Li and Chao had never been foolish enough to attack each other and Lei knew why: unlike most other warriors, they valued their honour and their families far too high to attack each other from behind which would have been the only way to get rid of the other one. And they would never do anything but fighting honourably because after all they had seen, they had no reason for betrayal. Chao had loved Jun Li for many years and even when she had broken his heart, he had still cared for her. Maybe it was one of these things no outsider would ever truly understand.

"Hey, Fu, where are you going?" Lei asked as the boy headed towards the door.

"I am going to visit Tori-sama!"

It was a start.

* * *

Jun Li smiled as she listened to the rain on the roof. She looked out the open window and watched how the drops formed little streams on the streets of her hometown. Her injuries had been bandaged and while she was still bitter about her defeat, she was glad that she had made her peace with her cousin. Chao was like an older brother to her and she loved him dearly even though she had just tried to kill him. Their relationship had never been easy to explain or even logical. They had always fought each other for everything, starting with berries over weapons to the position as clan head and this was the only way they knew to operate.

Their relationship needed respect and the want for more power and strength. They had to be strong and they had to be the best at everything they did. The both Wei-children had be the nightmare of every teacher in the village because they had made a challenge out of everything.

And a long time ago, she had loved him. She had loved him with everything she had been, with everything she was and everything she would ever be.

He was her family after all, another Wei-warrior, one of her blood – a man with the same mission. She had loved him like a sister would love her brother or a mother her child and at this time, she would have given her life for him because he had been this precious to her. In Classical Xingese Philosophy, this kind of love had been associated with water for some reason, maybe because water was a liquid – just like the blood they shared.

She had loved him the way a woman was supposed to love a men, a long time ago, when they had been sixteen, and she would have gladly married him back then but she had realised very soon that the ties of their blood were too strong and would keep them apart forever. They were family after all and even though it was a common thing in Xing that cousins married each other to ensure that the money and the power stayed in the family, she had turned away from Chao. The fire had fallen victim to the water.

She had still loved him. He was a friend and they shared secrets. Their friendship had grown under her tender care and it had become a rock to rely on – no matter how much they fought and tried to kick the other out of the race to the position as clan head. And in the end, she realised that even after so many years, she was still devoted to him because they were two halves of the same thing.

But no matter how much she had loved Chao, she had loved Lei even more. Lei had never judged her because he had seen how hard she tried to protect everyone she cared for in one way or another – and this included basically everyone in Xing. for Lei, she had killed and she would gladly die for him. She couldn't exist without him – no matter how long she had tried to deny this – because he was her air, her everything and she loved him more than life itself.

Laila watched with a hint of envy how Victoria moved through the room. The important Ball of November was less than a week away and the sisters needed a dress. Elicia already had one because she hadn't been too lazy to take care of this and Rachel and Helena were too young to attend and would stay at home with Serena who never attended the ball because she hated being the centre of attention which she would be. Beauty had its disadvantages after all. And therefore, the both girls had been kidnapped from their afternoon-activities (a date with Cai and a charity kaffeeklatsch) by Jade, Nerissa and Bea who also needed new dresses.

Anyway, the reason for Laila's current envy was the dress Victoria wore right now. It was black, it showed off the curves the younger girl had been graced with and yet, it was classy. To cut it short: it was perfect for Victoria. And this ticked Laila off. She loved her sister to death. In fact, there was nothing she wouldn't do for Victoria but Laila wanted to kill the redhead right now. Laila had accepted that fate clearly favoured Victoria a long time ago. Victoria was smarter, more exotic and also far curvier. (Fate had showed favouritism by making the younger girl take after Kay, Nerissa and Serena who were very curvy while Laila took after Lynn who had been very slim and lean.) Laila was even happy that Victoria had all the fanboys and perverts coming after her whole she was left alone by them. Laila was also very happy that Victoria was the responsible one because that meant that the blonde could enjoy her life and dedicate herself to her art which made her really content.

But now. The dress. Laila wanted to smash something against a wall – probably Victoria's skull. She tried her best to stay calm and relaxed while Victoria glared at her reflection. It was just too unfair. There was no logical reason why Victoria who would attend the ball in jeans and t-shirt if no one would make sure to put her into the dress would get the most amazing dress in the store.

"You look really pretty, Vicky," Nerissa said while she stepped into the room. She wore a dark blue dress that flattered her aforementioned curved and that made her hair shine like gold.

Bea nodded as she stepped in front of a mirror to look at herself. She wore a long golden dress made of silk that complimented her tanned skin and her hair. She looked beautiful and Jade who was right behind her in a burgundy dress that was nearly black feared for a moment that her twin might faint.

"Your dress is very beautiful, Bea," Laila said while she wanted to die because everyone but her had already found a perfect dress – and none of the other women really cared about the way they looked. For a moment, she decided that it was because no one else was dating a real prince before she remembered that Jade's husband had been the crown prince before he had made Aerugo a constitutional monarchy so it couldn't be because of this.

"Thank you, dear," the woman smiled while she smoothed an invisible wrinkle. "You didn't find the perfect dress yet, right? Don't worry, we will track it down for you."

Nerissa chuckled while she twirled around in her dress. "There is a perfect dress out there," she said with a smile and winked at Laila before her attention returned to Victoria who was still glaring at her reflection like she wanted to smash the mirror. The problem – and Nerissa was the only person alive besides Riza who knew about this – was that Victoria was very unhappy with her curves and longed to be leaner – more like her own mother or Laila. Nerissa and Riza could relate to this feelings but they had learned to live with their bodies and once they had accepted it, it was alright with them.

Sometimes, it was painful for Nerissa to look at Victoria who reminded her of her dead sisters because the girl looked just like Kay with Lynn's soft and kind eyes with the fire of determination burning inside the purple orbs. To look at Victoria meant looking straight into the face of the both sisters who had died while protecting the country. To look at Victoria meant to remember the both lost geniuses of the family. It was easier to look at Laila who had Charles' eyes and Riza's hair – and therefore looked like a younger version of Charlotte Llewellyn.

Victoria snorted. "I look terrible," she stated with a little huff.

"You look beautiful," Laila said friendly because she had never been one to let Envy take over.

"It's not my style." The younger girl's voice was calm.

"Your style?" Jade chuckled. "Your style is a purple top along with a pair of black pants."

Victoria's eyes sparkled dangerously. "At least I wear other colours besides black!"

The woman flinched slightly.

She had reasons to wear nothing but black in her everyday-life but this reason was a secret she had never shared with anyone because she had gotten herself into the mess and she didn't want to involve anyone. The few people who knew or had known (Lynn, Phil and maybe even Edward and her parents along with Izumi) had figured it out alone, through keen observation and logic. Lynn had nodded sympathy, Phil had stroked the scar on her cheek, Edward had stopped teasing her about it, Alain had hugged her tightly, Abigail had stopped bothering her and allowed to deal with everything alone and Izumi had given her an understanding smile.

Some things went without saying and that was the reason why Jade sometimes believed that Nerissa knew as well because Nerissa was the kind of person who hardly slept and thought about the (seemingly) most random and unimportant things while everyone else was fast asleep. Nerissa was unique and special in many ways and her discretion was one of the reasons why she was such a good friend. If Nerissa really knew the secret, it was as safe with her as it was with Lynn who was six feet under and therefore in no position to tell.

In a way, Jade mused, many of them were really faithful to their trademark colour combinations. Victoria was all black and purple – a strangely dark and yet very fitting combination that united the girl's originality with the mystery that surrounded her and her power, hidden beneath her fragile exterior. Nerissa's favourite combination was easier: gold stood for her influence and her wealth along with her power – hell, back in the days the Hamilton-clan had been basically royalty! – while the blue reminded of her never-ending patience but also her coldness that was still evident in her eyes.

The interesting thing was, however, that their colours told their stories more free and open than their eyes ever could.

"Victoria," Nerissa said softly but it was a warning.

The girl relaxed as she nodded. She had understood and she would pay more attention to her words in the future. Nerissa and Victoria were pretty good at communicating without many words. A simple gaze often told more than hundred meaningless words between them. And Nerissa often saw the things Victoria tried to hide. When the redhead had fallen ill the first time, she had been foolish enough to tell herself that it was nothing serious and therefore she hadn't gone to a doctor. Nerissa had seen her and she had basically forced Victoria into visiting her usual doctor who had sent her to the hospital for more check-ups. Nerissa had been there the whole time and when Victoria had broken down because she knew what the diagnosis meant Nerissa had said nothing as she had stroked the messy red hair until Victoria had finally fallen asleep from the frustration and the exhaustion.

* * *

Olivier blinked as she looked at her brother who had just barged into the room where she looked through dresses she could wear for the ball. She was far from being interested into the different arrangements of frills and ribbons but she had learned her lessons as a teenager: balls like this weren't about having fun. Balls like this were about showing the world how much money you had. Still, she lowered the emerald dress she had been studying and raised her eyebrow. "An exposition?" she asked.

"Yes, dear sister!" Alex exclaimed. "I want to show the world how amazing and wonderful Kay was!"

"And why do you need my permission for this?"

"When she died, she was a member of the military…"

"Please, come to the point, Alex. I don't have all day for this."

"I need the permission of the first-in-command of the military when I want to make an exposition about a fallen member of the military – something about press and publicity rights."

"I understand," she sighed. "So … why Kay Hamilton of all people?"

"Her image and her reputation in public is a full-blown catastrophe and she doesn't deserve to be seen as the monster she is seen as today. Yes, she killed many people during the war but she … you have seen her, right? There is no need to explain what she looked like after the war."

Olivier nodded slowly while she looked at a crimson dress. "I remember just too well," she said quietly while she turned around and faced the window. "She was the best example for a completely ruined life. You have my permission and since Jade has to approve as well, I will sent her early tomorrow to approve of this exposition. Remember that she knew Kay quite well, far better than I."

"I know," her brother said. "I already got the permission of the family and of the Ishbalans."

* * *

Jade was usually no woman who voiced her amazement about art because she had grown up in a house where art was everywhere. Her grandmother on her father's side had been a gifted artist and the black-haired minister of science was therefore used to the beauty of art but somehow, these sculptures and paintings touched her soul and her heart. She had been asked to check if everything was appropriate and she approved fully of this exposition.

"Great work, Armstrong," she said kindly as she nodded at the huge man. "It's been approved of."

Sometimes, she loved having the authority to make these decisions because she never had to explain anything. When she said that something was approved of, no one asked her why she had made this decision. And in this case, she was especially happy about this because she didn't want to tell anyone that a bunch of stones and canvas could make her cry in their beauty.

But everything, every sculpture and every painting, was just too perfect. She had seen the sketches Alex had made before he had started to create the statue that was probably the highlight of the exposition. He had caught Kay's previously lost way of smiling and holding herself with more grace than anyone else and he had bound this Kay-ness forever in stone. The statue in the centre of the room showed Kay in one of her most vulnerable moments. She looked over her shoulder and smiled faintly yet somehow very tired while she ran one hand through her hair. Just like in the old days, Jade could see more than just the statue as she looked at it. She also saw the pain in Alex' eyes when he had crafted her from the marble. She could feel the unconditional loyalty and love the Strong Arm Alchemist still held to his late co-worker, friend and comrade. Jade had always been quick to figure out when someone had been in love and because she had seen so many times what unrequited love could do to a person, she was happy that Alex had dealt with his heartbreak like the gentleman he was known to be: he had accepted it and he had never hated Kay for unknowingly breaking his heart or Charles for taking her away before he had had the chance to fight for her.

As far as the Air Alchemist could remember, Alex had always been a great friend of Charles and Kay likewise and if she hadn't seen these sculptures, she wouldn't have guessed it even though it made sense in a way. Unlike Kimblee who had had feelings for Kay as well, Alex would have seen Kay as a kindred soul because they shared two things: great power and a soft heart.

"Mustang?" Alex asked as she turned to leave, lost in her thoughts as usual. "Thank you."

For a moment, she wondered what he was thanking her for because she had done nothing special this time around but as she looked up to him and met his eyes, she realised that he knew that she knew and he thanked her for keeping it a secret. She forced herself to nod and saluted playfully. "I see you around," she said seriously before she walked out of the building and relaxed as soon as the cold air hit her face. It was just another secret that she would keep and protect like it was her own.

She walked down the street while she thought of her meeting with Roy. She frowned slightly as she remembered how nervous he had sounded when he had called her earlier. She didn't like her cousin to be nervous because usually it meant that there was a huge mess somewhere and she knew her bad luck good enough to know that she would be definitely involved.

She ignored the photographers who followed her, trying in vain to get some good pictures of her before she disappeared into the chancellor's building. She passed the receptionist as she jumped into the elevator and while she waited to get to her cousin's office, she straightened her clothes and made sure that no hair was out of place. She looked into the mirror and for a moment, she decided that she looked strict and competent as usual with her black-rimmed glasses and her plain yet elegant clothes.

"Good morning, Mrs Mustang!" the secretary smiled as the minister of science passed. "You look really great today. New lipstick?"

Jade smirked before she nodded. "Yes," she said while she touched her red lips. "I wanted change."

"You look incredibly beautiful, Madam," the younger woman said while she looked at the black-haired lady. It was sometimes difficult to remember that this refined and polished Minister Jadelina Mustang also worked for the Amestris Fire Lion and fought the bad guys who threatened the peace of their country with everything she had. In the office, the woman looked like a proper lady with her smiles and her manicured fingernails but on the battlefield, she was all bruises and blood.

"Thank you, Miss," Jade smiled before she mentioned towards the big door. "Is he already in?"

As the secretary nodded, the woman with the red headband inhaled deeply before she pushed the doors open and entered the office. She was not as early as she had suspected. Olivier and Bendix were already there and looked considerably worried. Jade frowned slightly as she looked at Riza and Roy who didn't look like the happy couple they were known to be as well. Jade stopped in the middle of the room as she noticed that nearly everyone from their circle who had influence was present – even Lei, Catherina and Nerissa. Catherina was hardly ever present during these summits because she had no business with the Amestrian politics and Lei was usually not present because he was far too busy and he never bothered with unimportant things anyway. But Nerissa's presence unsettled Jade the most. The blonde was often asked to join the summits and she usually found an excuse that got her out of it. When she was present, it meant that she saw the security of her family endangered – and that rarely happened because she relied on the skill of her relatives more than anyone else.

"Welcome to our emergency meeting," Roy said after Jade had closed and locked the door. "Jun Li and some others are missing because they are on missions or couldn't be reached. Jade, make sure that everyone who should be informed will be informed."

His cousin nodded as she sat down to write down everything.

"What is going on, anyway?" Phil asked while he leaned against the door.

"The country behind Hellas, Monte something declared war on us," Roy stated plainly. "And not only on us but also on Creta, Xing and Drachma which makes things more complicated."

"That sounds really bad – especially since Aerugo was already attacked this night," Phil said while he looked at Jade. "You were already gone when the news came in, sister. Bea and Claudio are pretty worried and I fear that this means that Monte Bandeo declared war on Aerugo as well."

"Are they insane?" Olivier asked after a moment of complete silence. "Sure, we lowered the number of soldiers after Bradley and we didn't invest as much into the development of new weapons as we used to but we have still one of the best armies in the world. Drachma has its special forces, Creta has a really good army as well and Xing has a lot of good fighters as well!"

Catherina nodded in agreement. Her face was paler than usual and her red hair was slightly messy and far from its usual neat style. Lei scowled as he crossed his arms. His black hair was bound to a low ponytail and he wore a green jacket over a pair of black pants. He was obviously unhappy about the whole situation but he had proven to be a good adviser even under complicated situations. Nerissa stood in the corner with the most emotionless face anyone had seen. She had worked hard to be able to suppress any signs of her feelings and her eyes were as empty as her face. She had her hair bound to the usual low ponytail again and her bangs framed her face.

Riza tried to figure out what her cousin was thinking but it was impossible to read her today. If it had been Kay, Riza had known how to look through the well-guarded expression. Hell, even Serena and Lynn were open books compared to their eldest sister. Nerissa had always worn a perfect mask – even as a child. When it came to hiding her thoughts and emotions, she was as good as Jade or Jun Li. Riza had often thought that Nerissa would have been an amazing assassin if she hadn't vowed to avoid needless kills – and sometimes, the first lady was really happy about this because someone like Nerissa was already dangerous enough without the intention to kill. Given a mission or the wish to remove someone from the face of earth, she would have been a monster. Her dedication made her already the most dangerous fighter in Amestris. If she would kill, she would be able to take over whole governments in no time and that was something no one wanted because such an amount of power would finally drive her completely insane. Riza was grateful for Catherina's wisdom because the red-haired woman who had taught Nerissa for such a long time because while Catherina was probably the only one whose strength could match Nerissa's she had grown old and her body wasn't as reliable as it used to be a long time ago. Still, Catherina deserved rewards for putting up with Nerissa and her antics when no one had wanted to care for the blond girl a long time ago. Catherina had made her stable enough to let her return to the normal world.

"This is going to be the catastrophe everyone has been waiting for since Roy came to power," Peter stated calmly while he rested his hand on his wife's waist. "Look at it from this point: under Bradley, we never had to face the risk that someone would attack us because that guy made sure that everyone knew that Amestris is far too strong. And now, we demilitarised and are attacked. The press is going to have a field day with this news. Roy, make sure to defend yourself in your next interview."

"We will make it through this," Riza said calmly. "And when I look at the bright side … they never elected a new chancellor in times of war. The next election is already won."


	7. 171: Kidnapped

**Kidnapped**

* * *

Nick and Victoria were currently far from being happy. Their hands were tied together and they sat in some smelly cellar and waited for their kidnappers to decide what they would do with the chancellor's children. Victoria was freezing because she wore just a shirt and her usual pants and she had lost her jacket when they had tried to fight their kidnappers off. Nick was luckier and had still his jacket but he had a sprained ankle and since Victoria had her hands tied together, she couldn't take care of this.

"Let's look on the bright side," the boy said with a devilish smile. "We will be out of here in less than a day and we don't have to eat Uncle Phil's terrible cooking. I bet that he is practicing how to poison someone whenever he cooks. Anyway, we should think of a plan to get away."

"Can't we just wait for the others to rescue us and see this as the ultimate twin-bonding-experience?" she asked while she leaned against him. "I mean … it's not like we have to fear anything from this."

"You are far too relaxed for someone who has been kidnapped half an hour ago," her brother scolded with a smirk. "And you are the girl. You are supposed to freak out right now."

"Maybe I would freak out if I wasn't too bored by this. Honestly, who is dumb enough to mess with the chancellor's family? It's not like we are the perfect heroes, sure, but the people _like_ us."

"Jade was kidnapped once as well," he said as he rested his head on her shoulder. "She was kept in complete darkness – no wonder why she is still afraid of the dark even after so many years."

"Laila said that being the worst about being kidnapped is to be alone all the time," she muttered while she rested her head on top of his. "At least we aren't alone in this mess, right?"

"You always took everything far too easy for a girl," he sighed. "Maybe this is why I like you that much: you are a great partner in misery because you never let it get to you."

"Fine, make an emotionless bitch out of me," she pouted. "It's just that I prefer to have full control of my mind and if I am panicking, I cannot control my own thoughts – and idea that annoys me."

"Many things tend to annoy you because you cannot control them, Victoria," Nick commented.

"I don't intend to reach world domination, don't worry," she said. "If I had wanted this, I would plan to turn Amestris back to the country it was the second Bradley died. It would have been the perfect moment for radical forces to take power and destroy the balance the world has right now."

"You are still thinking of balance when you should think of other things."

"The meaning is in the idea and not in the person that carries it out to the world," she said as she closed her eyes for a moment. "Sometimes, I feel like I will break under the pressure. Laila expects me to be the older sister she never had but always needed. Mom wants me to live up to our name because I am the last one left who can make the people remember our name. Dad already sees me in his chair and sometimes, I am really afraid of disappointing him one day because he believes that much in me. I am scared of making Jade cry when she looks at me because she loved our mother too much. They were the best friends the world has ever seen. And Serena … she was mother's twin. Whenever she looks at me, she sees everything what is left of Lynn – and I fear to destroy this. Nerissa is easier for me to deal with because she has been through the same thing." Victoria angrily narrowed her eyes when a tear threatened to fall. "Sometimes, I think that you are the only one who doesn't put more pressure on me – along with Owen. I don't have to care what I say when I am with you."

Nick chuckled. "Maybe I stopped pressuring you because I have known you long enough to know that you will become too stubborn," he said. "You are doing everything your own way anyway and why should I waste any efforts on pressuring you if it is pointless? You are such a troublesome girl sometimes – but this is exactly why I like you that much."

"Hey, I stopped nagging you about the things you eat, you know?"

"You are my big sister. You are supposed to be the most troublesome and annoying woman in my life."

"Aren't you a gentleman today, Nick?"

Their guard knocked against the door. "Yo, twins, keep it down a little bit," he said. "If you ask me, you are both the most troublesome children I've ever seen."

Victoria grinned at her brother – the tears were long forgotten. "We just reached our goal!"

Nick chuckled as he turned his head to kiss her temple. "And here I thought that you would go all emotional on me," he said. "I am happy that you are no emotional wrack right now, sister."

She glared at him. "I highly advice you to take that back," she said.

"And please, tell me why I should do this?" he said with a wide smirk.

"Because you really should know that I am far from becoming an emotional wrack at times like those."

"And that's exactly why I am happy that I was kidnapped along with you," he smiled.

* * *

Just like Laila had always said: Victoria attracted creepy guys like light moths and it had been just a matter of time until the redhead would be the kidnapped one. Laila had always thought that Victoria caused fireworks erupting on the sky whenever she moved. In a crowd, she was always easy to spot because of her height and her red hair. And every once in a while, she showed off the noble blood in her veins. She deserved to be a queen – this much. Whenever Victoria danced, everything danced with her. She had a way to move that reminded Laila of Jun Li's Dance of Twenty Kunai – just without the weapons. When Victoria moved – if on the street or in a fight, she was in balance. Her arms and legs had probably the same perfect coordination that Laila's had after years of ballet. Victoria was like the moon at night – sometimes the only light when everything seemed lost. She was the essence of what made a Hawkeye – brillant, elegant and pure.

Neither Laila nor Nick could embody the values of the family as good as the red-haired girl. She was everything Laila would never be and next to her taller sister, Laila often felt clumsy and stupid even if Victoria was usually the one to cheer her up on a bad day. Maybe this was the problem: Victoria never exposed any weaknesses and made it look like she had none even though Laila remembered the pale face and the trembling hands when the younger girl had seen the corpse of a council member.

Victoria was the champion in every fight – and Laila had to admit that Amestris and their family needed someone like her. Laila would be in Xing sooner or later, helping to improve the relationships between the both countries. But Victoria would be there. She would be in Amestris and considering her usual stubbornness which was a typical Hawkeye-treat, she would be able to keep everyone in line because that was what Victoria truly showed her brilliancy.

Victoria had the potential to bring the change because she was a woman of words – and not one of the sword. She was witty instead of dangerous but sometimes, the people wondered how much of a threat she was considering her intelligence.

Laila was nervous when she entered Serena's office where Nerissa and Jade already waited along with Riza, Rebecca and Maria who already wore field clothes.

"Great that you could join us," Serena said peacefully as she got up from her chair. "You see, Victoria and Nick were kidnapped and we want them back because it would look bad in our files to hand over the only children of the great Lynn Hamilton to the enemy."

"We already alarmed every police man in Central City," Nerissa continued calmly. "Should the twins free themselves, they will be brought to the chancellor's building immediately. Before you can ask, Laila: we need you because you know them the best since Owen is with Roy to keep him calm and Elicia is with her father who helps her to get over the shock … and because you are a healer."

"So … we are hoping the best and fearing the worst," the blonde sighed. "I understand but what about Lei or Edward? Aren't they usually called on missions like this? Hell, even the agents Timms and Stevens have more experience in cases like this one than us."

"Lei and Edward are on a mission in WestCity and we cannot wait for them to return," Jade stated.

"You ditched your partner?" Maria smirked. "Honestly, Jade, I never thought that you would do this."

"Edward was getting on my nerves with his talk about his family and Lei needed a replacement for Jun Li for this mission," the black-haired woman said smoothly. She had been part of this game far longer than anyone else and she had learned how to deal with teasing as a child because it wasn't becoming for a Mustang to beat up someone because of a bad joke – sadly. Jade had always been part of the elite but maybe the reason why she had survived this far was that she was usually lucky. Her grandfather had said once that she was born lucky while Londres had been lucky to be born … and Christian Mustang had clearly implied that he didn't care much for his other granddaughter.

"Anyway," Serena said softly as she nodded at Nerissa. "We narrowed down the places where they could be. I got the call because the kidnappers seem to believe that I am the last person to personally enter a battlefield. Well, they are mistaken and thanks to Fuery's and Nessa's help, I was able to narrow it down to one single street – as long as they didn't move them but the guy didn't sound smart enough to consider something like this."

"How did you narrow it down?" Rebecca asked while she crossed her arms.

"Serena has probably the most sensitive ears in the whole country and she was able to pin down the area by the sounds in the background which would have seemed to be pretty unimportant for anyone who doesn't specialise in things like this," Nerissa explained while her sister nodded.

"And to my surprise, we won't have to go to the shady areas in this town," the younger blonde said with a faint smirk. "Our kidnapper is very kind and is somewhere in the western part of town."

"More precise…" Nerissa opened a map. "He is in the Madison-Tempest-Street."

"That would explain why he didn't ask for money," Maria stated as she frowned. "Someone who can afford being there can also afford to ask for the stop of that one law instead of asking for money."

"That is exactly what I thought – and it would also explain why we are here," Rebecca sighed.

"Exactly," Serena said. "Even though the kidnapper is probably pretty dumb, he is rich enough to have a lot of elite guards around the place – and I just don't want to lose any agents to this operation."

"That makes sense – as usual," Jade stated plainly as she braided her hair. "I am totally kicking the ass of whoever kidnapped my niece and my nephew."

For a moment, Riza was happy that Jade was on her side because she had seen what the black-haired woman had done to people who annoyed her just a little too much – and that wasn't pretty at all. Sometimes, Riza and Roy suspected that Jade and Olivier had been twins in a previous life because they were extremely protective about their loved ones while they could rip apart any enemy without thinking twice. It was an extremely good thing that Lynn had befriended Jade because for that reason, the Air Alchemist would walk through hell and back to save Lynn's twins.

* * *

"Sir," Owen said as he returned to the chancellor's office. "The six agents left now to rescue the missing twins. Agent Catalina ordered me to make sure that you stay here and do – and I quote – 'nothing that would be idiotic for his standards'."

Jean Havoc chuckled as he leaned against an empty desk. "That's my wife to you," he grinned.

"I am worried about Vicky and Nick," Kain Fuery muttered while he looked out the window. "I mean … they are together but someone could have the brilliant idea to _torture_ them about _government secrets_."

"Unlikely since they don't know any, right?" Heymans Breda turned around to look at his boss who had paled considerably at the horrible thought that his children could be tortured.

"Boss?" Vato Falman asked as he noticed it. "Don't tell me that they know anything they aren't supposed to know considering that they are children and should be therefore unaffected!"

"I … I might have mentioned … something about the planes we bought to them," Roy admitted, "but I don't think that anyone would go through the trouble to kidnap them to ask them this!"

"We cannot be sure," Falman said calmly. "Fact is that everyone knows that Victoria is going to be the next chancellor, right? So everyone can do the math and see that it is likely that she knows more than she is supposed to know. I mean … with all the time she spends around this office and the fact that she is dating Johnson, she does know more than she should know."

"And Vicky can't keep a secret from Nick – no matter how hard she tries, he always knows somehow," Havoc said slowly. "They could be in serious trouble."

Roy growled while he rested his forehead on his desk. "First the war and now this…"

"Maybe it is linked somehow," Owen suggested. "Maybe someone from Monte Bandeo came to kidnap them in order to weaken the chancellor who is the one who has to plan the war…"

"Owen – you are officially a genius!" Roy announced as he sat up. "You are right. No one within their right mind would kidnap someone at the suspicion that he knows something when there is no proof and since our house is checked for bugs and everything, no one _can_ know how much they know. So they cannot be kidnapped for their knowledge. They were kidnapped for another reason – and this could really be the war. Because even though it would be my duty as chancellor, I would never sacrifice my children because no father could do this."

"They really grew on you, huh, boss?" Havoc smiled sadly. "When I remember how you used to be when we were still stationed in the east … such an angry and easily aggressive man … you changed a lot and I think that this comes from having a family. Honestly, you nearly set my hair aflame when I asked Jade out that one time. Sure, she is your little sister but … honestly?"

Roy's pale cheeks got pink. "I saved both of you from an embarrassing date!" he declared. "Jade is probably the only person who has a date statistic worse than yours, Jean, and it would have gotten really ugly. Jade's date had a tendency of being really creepy perverts who wanted to steal her underwear and wear it on their heads … oh, and some of them were sent into prison later."

Havoc paled slightly. "What the hell is wrong with her and Vicky? Why are they attracting perverts?"

Breda sighed deeply. "You of all people should have realised that both of them are a little bit curvier than most other women," he said before he dodged the book Roy threw at him.

"They are my daughter and my cousin!" the chancellor yelled.

"You are talking about my girlfriend and my teacher!" Owen shouted.

* * *

"Alright, Dove is in position," Jade rolled her eyes as she ended the call and looked at her cousin-in-law. "Honestly, Nerissa is terrible at making up aliases!" she complained. "I mean … dove?"

"Hawk would have been a little bit too obvious – just as horse," the blonde smirked as the both woman walked towards the house Serena had picked out as the gangster's hideout. "And you have to admit that she showed at least a little bit of creativity!"

"A dove is part of the family crest of the Tempest-clan," Jade stated drily as she looked at the house. "It looks like no one has been here in a long time and therefore it is just what we have been looking for."

"Yes," Serena muttered from behind them. "And the sound is also matching. I heard those birds when I was talking to the kidnapper and since they are in a cage, they can't have been moved in the meantime which makes it very likely that we got the right house."

Nerissa walked over to them, slightly paler than usual. "We have a problem," she muttered.

"What is it this time?" Rebecca groaned. "Why can we never go through with a plan?"

"Look who is coming there," Jade said as she slapped herself.

"He cannot stay where he is supposed to even when it is this serious?" Riza sighed.

"He looks like he is going to rip those guys apart with his bare hands," Maria shrugged.

"He just had to come and ruin my perfect plan," Serena said with an annoyed frown on her face.

"Mommy will kill him," Laila sighed as she shook her head.

Riza tilted her head to the side while she crossed her arms. "Fancy meeting you here, husband," she said as she glared at Roy, "but you were supposed to stay in the office."

"Just because I am the chancellor now, it doesn't mean that I am unfit to save my own children," he said as he kissed her softly. "And frankly, this looks like a job for the Flame Alchemist."

"Your arrogance is still the most annoying trait of yours," Jade huffed as she mentioned towards the house. "Well, since you are here: there is the object."

"Nice," he said sarcastically. "Well, let's get to work, I guess."

Riza stared after him as he headed for the entrance before she looked at Serena and Nerissa who looked slightly dumbfounded. "Please tell me that this is a nightmare and that I will wake up now," she groaned. "He is the chancellor now – not some colonel who can afford such … ego trips!"

Serena shrugged. "I don't know," she said amused. "It seems like the chancellor cares a lot for his kids – and I bet that many people out there will love that. I like him being reckless and impulsive far more than his boring office-self."

"She has a point there," Nerissa said in agreement with her sister. "It shows that no one should mess with the chancellor because he takes such matters in his own hands."

"Well, less work for us," Laila said as she sat down on a bench. "To get involved would mean to stand in his way and I refuse to be a problem for him."

"Same thing here," Rebecca shrugged. "I just hope that he did nothing to Jean and the others."

* * *

Victoria and Nick frowned as they felt how the air got warmer and looked at each other.

"Does Jade have a technique that involves hot air?" Nick asked with a confused frown.

"No as far as I know," his sister replied. "And I never heard of one as well…"

Suddenly, the door was kicked down and as the dust settled down, their father stood there with a grim expression on his face. "Nice to see that you are fine and not hysteric," he said as he cut away the ropes around their wrists. "Oh, and I really hope that you don't mind that I knocked out your boyfriend, Vicky. It was necessary because they didn't want to let me go to rescue you."

"Yes, because they had orders!" Riza scolded as she appeared behind him. "You weren't supposed to get involved! You were supposed to stay in the office and tell the press the usual stories!"

He rolled his eyes before he grabbed and kissed her. "As much as I rely on my friends and subordinates, there are some battles I have to fight on my own," he said. "And Jade already said that I was getting fat because I never get to work on the field anymore."

"And you took her teasing to heart and endangered yourself, daddy?" Nick shook his head.

"I know that I should have known better but I was worried!" Roy exclaimed.

"It looks like the family is nearly reunited," the leader of the kidnapper said amused. "So, the chancellor himself came to take care of us? So it is true what they say: your family is truly your weak point, Mr Mustang…" the man smirked. "Too bad for you, huh?"

"I wouldn't call them my weak point," Roy replied smoothly.

This very second, Laila threw a purple lightening while Jade punched the man with her full strength. Maria and Rebecca fired each one bullet into the man's tights while Nerissa sent some knives flying and Serena used a heavy book to knock him out completely.

"I would call them my biggest strength," the chancellor ended his sentence before he walked away with his wife and his children. Nerissa, Rebecca, Laila and Maria hurried after them while Jade stayed there while she looked at Serena with a serious expression on her face.

"What is it, Mustang?" Serena sighed.

"Phil noticed that you hardly use alchemy these days," Jade stated slowly, "and he is right. Even now, you used a book instead of an array. Care to explain?"

"Keep your minds to yourself and stop getting the wrong idea of everything," Serena huffed as she rushed away.

Jade stayed behind and crossed her arms. Serena had just proven her point.


	8. 172: The Dance

**The Dance**

* * *

A week before 'Kidnapped'

* * *

"…did … did you follow that order … grandfather gave you?" Jun Li asked as she stepped into Chao's room in their mansion in their hometown. "I mean … did you really go through with it?"

"You took this long to ask me?" he asked as he turned around with a sad smile. His beloved cousin who he had loved like a younger sister and who had shattered his heart countless times stood there in the doorframe like a shy child. Her hair fell down to her waist and unbound and unbraided, it made her look far younger than she was. Her blue eyes seemed far warmer than usual and the kimono she had stolen from him long ago hung loosely around her fragile form and showed off the chest bindings and bandages she wore underneath – some of them to support her chest and others to cover her wounds.

"It was hardly one of the days I wanted to remember," she said softly as she looked up at him.

"I was so close to killing him back then," he whispered. "I couldn't believe that grandfather stopped me, Jun Li. I was never that angry. Sure, I was mad at you as well because you weren't careful enough but if grandfather hadn't knocked me out … I would have ripped that spoiled little brat apart because he had dared to touch you, princess. You know how close you came to death that night. If it had killed you, I would have killed him, her and myself."

"How could you stand looking at me afterwards, Chao?" she whispered as she sat down on the futon. "I stained the family's honour. I stained our reputation. I … my selfishness…"

"I didn't kill her," he said as he sat down next to her and wrapped his arm around her. "Grandfather was furious, you knew him even better than I, so you can imagine how mad he was at me for disobeying him. You have been there as well after all. But I didn't waver. You were gone and there I was, holding that fragile little being and he wanted me to kill it to uphold the family's honour. You were back in the capital, you know?" he sighed deeply. "But I stood my ground because I knew that no matter what you believed back then, you would have never forgiven me if I had done this."

"What did you do?" she asked while her fingernails pierced his forearm which she had grabbed.

"Remember what everyone used to say when we were younger, before you left?" he asked calmly as he looked back at his cousin who had healed and hurt him like no one else. "I claimed that it was my child and the few people who doubted my words soon ran out of arguments why I shouldn't have been the foolish one. Most people in the village never believed that you would have been stupid enough to get pregnant unmarried anyway because you seemed so dedicated and so determinate all the time."

She sunk down on her knees and lowered her head while she folded her hands. "I … I never deserved someone like you to be my brother-in-arms and cousin-in-blood," she whispered. "For…forgive me…"

"You are being foolish again, Jun-Jun," he said amused while he pulled her back up and wrapped one arm around her. "Min Li grew into a pretty young lady, don't worry."

She turned her head to face him. "You … remembered?" she asked while she rested her forehead against his chest. "You actually listened while I was rambling?"

"Jun Li, you are my cousin. You are one of the few sane members of this family. You and I fought back to back. We studied side-by-side and back in the days of our childhood, we ran through the village hand-in-hand. And you really thought that I wouldn't listen to a thirteen-year-old girl who is rambling about marriage and children while we are waiting for the assassin to appear? Honestly, you even described the flower arrangements, Jun-Jun," he chuckled. "You always scolded Lan Fan for being a romantic fool while you weren't much better – at least she didn't get pregnant without being married."

"Being pregnant at sixteen isn't much better," she muttered embarrassed.

"I don't say this to make you mad, Jun-Jun, but … are you really that happy in your new life?" he asked while he tilted her head upwards. "I just want to know if your life is just the way you wanted it to be when we were younger."

"It's not always easy to deal with the three boys but I wouldn't want to miss it for anything in this world," she smiled. "I mean … I came a wide way to where I am now and after kissing quite some frogs, I finally got a prince. This isn't over yet, sure, and no one will write 'and they lived happily ever after' under the story of my life for many years as long as I have some say in this but it's alright. I leave it to Lan-Lan to be the empress. I never wanted to raise that high because it would have hurt more to fall."

He smiled and nodded. "That is everything I ever wanted to know," he said friendly. "I was worried, you know? Sure, we separated our ways as rivals but you are still my little sister, Jun-Jun."

* * *

**Present time**

* * *

Phil sometimes wanted to murder his sister when she gave him orders but this time, he saw why he had to do it. Jade had already tried to get an answer and she had failed. Would she ask again, she would make herself sounding just more suspicious and that would make Serena aware of the fact that the Mustang-twins were up to reveal the reason why a former state alchemist who had been called a master of alchemy by many people refused to do what she had been paid for a long time ago: using alchemy and transmutations to make her own life easier. Phil had been the first to notice that Serena who had hated paperwork as much as every other sane officer had confined herself to a job in the office when her skill could have been used on the field as well. And Serena who had created her position herself and who could have avoided the boring days in the office had hardly any missions that could have kept her in shape. And that was exactly what had made her so suspicious for the twins.

And this was the reason why Phil had challenged Serena for a friendly little spar with the full intention to force her into admitting that something was not right – and he hoped that he would even get out of her what exactly was wrong with her and her sudden refusal to use alchemy in fights.

Since Serena was known for her absolute inability to refuse a good challenge, Phil had to admit that this plan of his older sister would be probably a full success and he made a mental note to credit her for everything once this ordeal was over.

"Sparring? Of course!" the blonde said unusually cheerful as she skipped out of her office. "You know, Phil, with the kidnapping yesterday and the dance tomorrow, I am always so incredibly stressed. I am not even attending the ball but that seems to lure everyone into dumping more and more work on me."

He smirked behind his usual calm expression. "Jade complains about the same thing – and she is attending," he said casually while he opened the door for her. "Anyway, we will miss you, Serena."

She huffed at him. "Jade and everyone else just hopes that someone comes to outshine them because no one of them wants to be the centre of attention."

"Probably, yes," he agreed before they went into their fighting stances.

Phil was a good fighter with the wild and untamed spirit that marked all the members of the Mustang-family but Serena was all about the cold and very effective techniques of her maternal family. Still, it was very surprising how easy it was for Phil to get her into staggering backwards, unable to stand her ground. He frowned at this. Jade had noticed that Serena hadn't actively participated in the alchemy sparring sessions since her return and this kind of sparring was exactly the kind of challenge she had enjoyed the most before she had faked her own death and had disappeared for a long time. The male twin frowned even more as he added some more air barriers. He didn't enjoy beating Serena up like this but Jade had created the plan – and she had warned him that this would be necessary.

Serena had started to bleed four minutes ago when she had been unable to dodge a shuriken and since she was the Princess of Eternal Winter who had never faltered, she hadn't taken a break to wrap a bandage around the gashes on her arms.

The black-haired man closed his eyes before he allowed a knife to slip from the holster in his sleeve straight into his hand and went through with an attack that every sane alchemist (and Nerissa) would be able to avoid with an easy transmutation.

Serena yelled in pain as the blade sliced clean through her arm, cutting through muscles and hitting the bone. Phil relaxed visibly before he ripped apart his shirt and used it to bandage her arms. "Care to explain?" he asked while he mused what he would tell Victoria because the red-haired girl would ask.

"That you got stronger than me?" the blonde asked while she glared at him.

"No – why did you allow me to hurt you, Serena?" he asked sharply as he grabbed her shoulders. "You aren't weaker than me and you know it. You could have avoided every single injury with that array that creates a dome of energy around you. I know that you have this array, Serena, and I know that you have mastered this technique a long time ago."

The blonde closed her eyes before she collapsed onto the floor and a bitter tear rolled down her cheek as she glared up at him. "You and your sister … you are always messing around with my private life!" she hissed. "Why can't you just stop caring for everyone? Why do you have to be the perfect friends?"

He sat down in front of her kneeling form. "Just tell me, Serena, and I promise that I will find a solution for whatever happened to you," he said seriously as he rested his hands on her uninjured shoulders.

She sighed deeply as she rested her forehead against his chest. "There was always a reason why I was so mad at everyone…" she muttered while she closed her eyes. "I hate your sister, you know? I don't hate her for her power because I lost mine by my own fault. I hate her because she has a brother who cares for her. I always wondered what it would be like to have a brother, Phil, and I think that it is easier than having a sister. Brothers can protect themselves. Jade doesn't have to feel guilty for your hand or anything else. I always felt guilty…"

"Wait a moment if you are in too much pain," he said while he looked around for help.

"No … I waited too long and that made me too weak," she replied as she opened her eyes. "I was so foolish," she muttered. "Before she died, Kay wrote me a letter. I thought that Nerissa was dead because I misinterpreted something. And you know me far too well, right? You know what I tried…"

Phil paled as he looked at the fragile woman in front of him. "The fourth known user of clap-clap-alchemy as Jade calls it," he whispered because he knew far too well what he would have done if Jade had died before he had learnt the truth about Human Transmutation.

"You make it sound like you knew what I did before I even got the chance to tell you."

"I wasn't sure about it but you are the type of person who would try things like this in order to get a beloved person back," he said calmly while he hugged her. "You, Aunty Iz, Edward and Alphonse … you are very similar," he went on. "Roy doesn't count because he was forced into doing this but everyone else … desperation and pride is a terrible combination especially if combined with wrath."

"You take this far too easy, Mustang," she complained while she slammed her fist against his chest.

"Maybe I take this so easy because I have seen too many freaky things in this world to freak out whenever something strange happens," he said while he frowned. "What did it take from you?"

"The Truth?" the blonde asked. "It was fairer with me than with most people I suppose. I lose a little bit of my eyesight with every transmutation I perform but if I can go a whole year without using any alchemy, I am free from my punishment for being foolish enough to mess with the Truth."

* * *

Some people had called Jane Stevens a watered down version of Jade Mustang and while both women claimed not to know about this, it had always seemed to Agent Paul Timms that his old partner was strangely flattered about the remark. He thought about this as he hurried up the stairs to her hospital room. Even more than a month after being attacked, she was in the hospital and confined to her bed. She had been nearly discharged a week ago but a relapse had prevented this.

"Good morning, flower," Timms said as he closed the door behind him and waited for a moment to get used to the darkness in the room. His old partner had been severely injured and a part of him wanted to find the responsible ones to rip them apart piece by piece. Jane's body was still covered in bandages and her face was hardly visible underneath. He hated to see her like this. He knew that she was hardly visited by anyone because the other agents saw her out of their responsibility and the soldiers didn't even knew her and therefore saw no reason to visit her.

"Good morning, Timms," Stevens replied as she tried to sit up. "They are taking off the bandages on my face today," she went on while she allowed her fingertips to dance across the white bandages.

He sat down on the chair and grabbed her hand. "And you are really leaving, flower?" he asked.

She nodded even though it hurt. "I am sorry, Timms," she said while she folded her hands and rested them in her lap as she leaned against the headboard of her bed. "I need to go soon."

He sighed deeply as he held her hand. "You are still a good agent, flower," he said softly. "The mission that got you that badly injured was a little bit too much for you, so it is no miracle that you were nearly killed. Honstely, Jane, you are no one to run away after something like this. I know that you feel like a broken tool but no one abandoned you. I still come to visit you and the boss says that it is okay."

Underneath the bandages, Jade Stevens attempted to raise an eyebrow with was hopeless. Two miracles had just happened: Timms had called her by her first name and he had been serious. He had been a fellow soldier back in her days in the Western Headquarters and even back then, he had nearly killed her with his enthusiasm that hadn't left him even when it had been after midnight and the stack with the paperwork had seemed to defeat logic and had grown even though they had worked all the time. In more than four years, Jane could count the times Paul Timms had called her something else than 'precious lily', 'beautiful flower' or a variation of this without a problem.

But before the woman had the chance to say something, the door was opened and her doctor entered. "Good morning, Miss Stevens!" he said friendly. "Time to get rid of the bandages, huh?"

She nodded and closed her eyes as the man hurried over to unwrap her face. Underneath was a face that was difficult to recognise. A long red scar ran from her right eyebrow down to her ear while another went from the left corner of her mouth straight to her ear. Many smaller and less deep scars had destroyed any pieces of beauty the face had possessed once upon a time.

Timms gasped as he saw the destruction on his beloved teammate's face but it had been to be expected after she had been attacked a second time when she had been already in hospital. While she had never been happy with her face and had claimed that it held no special charm, he had always seen a soft and kind beauty in her – hence the nicknames. To see her like this, robbed of all her beauty and utterly broken, he wanted to grab her shattered body and hug her tightly because sometimes, even someone like his precious lily needed some affection.

"I imagined it worse," Stevens said after looking into a mirror and tracing the scars with her fingertips. "I thought that I would look like a rag doll but as long as this is everything, it's alright with me."

"Doctor Knox suggested that an alchemist could make the scars less remarkable, Miss Stevens, and he asked me to give you the number of Miss Hawkeye-Hamilton," the doctor said as he handed over a little piece of paper. "I can only imagine how traumatic this has to be for you and we apologise."

"Thank you for the number but I won't call her," Stevens said calmly as she folded her hands again and rested them against her chest. "These scars are supposed to remind me for the rest of my life that no matter how much I tried, there are some limits I just cannot surpass. It is just like the legend of Icarus, you know? Whoever gets too close to the sun and tries to defy the rules … pays a price."

* * *

"…and remember that they aren't supposed to eat candy before going to bed, Rena," Riza said while she grabbed her red scarf from the chair. "I know that you can do this but…"

Serena rolled her eyes as she sat down on another chair and looked at her cousin. Riza wore a silver dress that wasn't as frilly and complicated as the dress Catherina had chosen for the dance. The blue-eyed woman remembered that Riza had never been one for complicated dresses while Lynn and Kay had loved to dress up in elegant robes. The youngest sister shook her head to get rid of the memory before she crossed her arms as she looked at Riza's hair which was bound to a bun while two curled strands framed her face. "I know the drill," the head of security said bored. "It isn't the first time that I look after them while you and Roy are out after all. Trust me, Riza."

"You know me," the older woman said while she wrapped the scarf around her shoulders. "I tend to worry too much and it's no offense against anyone when I am like this."

"I know," Serena said while she raised an eyebrow. "You look great tonight, Rize, but wait a second … the dress needs a necklace." She took off her own and held it out. "But I get it back, alright?"

Riza took it and as she looked at it, her eyes narrowed. "That is the one Kay gave you when you and Lynn graduated," she said slowly. The necklace was made of platinum and at least thirty rubies and twenty diamonds were to find in this necklace. It was beautiful and fitted perfectly to the dress but Riza felt like a thief for taking this necklace because it was probably the last present Serena had ever gotten from her older sister. The relationship between Serena and Kay had been nearly nonexistent by the time Kay had left the country and it was save to assume that it had stayed like this while the red-haired sister had been in Aerugo and Riza didn't want to stain the memory of her favourite cousin.

"It is … alright," Serena said slowly as she turned away. "Claudio told me Kay's last words: _'In the end, every fight I fought was pointless … because it ends like this … still … in the end, I am right once more. Funny, really funny…'_ I would never have thought that she would waste her last breath on something like this. Well, to say that she was right sounds like someone she would have said."

"It does sound like something she would have said, I agree," Riza said while she closed the necklace behind her neck. "But that her last word was funny … that surprises me. I would have expected this from someone else … someone with an easier life than her."

"I agree," Serena said while she turned her head to look at the appearing girls. Laila wore a pale grey dress that complimented her tanned skin and her long golden hair that was down and partly braided while silver ornaments sparkled hidden in her strands. She smiled happily while she dragged her younger yet taller sister into the room. Victoria wore the black dress and her hair was in a bun while purple ribbons that had been braided into her waves held back the hair that attempted to invade her face. Both girls looked very pretty even though the tomboy looked very unhappy at her high heels.

"You look great, girls," Roy said as he came into the room as well. "Hey there, Serena, you look nice."

She shrugged and the scarf slipped away from her arms, showing off the bandages and bruises.

"What the hell happened there?" Victoria asked sharply as she stepped forwards.

"I sparred with Phil and things got out of hand?"

"You can't answer a question with another question," Laila smirked.

"Be happy that we are already running late or Vicky would throw a fit," Roy sighed.

"Believe me – I know how lucky I am," Serena said seriously while she smiled. "Good evening, Nick."

"Good evening, Aunt Serena," the boy said as he bowed. "Dad, Elicia called and said that they are leaving now … so maybe, we should hurry up a little bit as well."

* * *

"Lady Abigail Mustang and Lord Alain Tempest!" the herald announced as the couple walked down the stairs while they smiled at each other. They both wore black but Abigail wore a red sash around her waist. They walked through the ballroom with fluid movements before they stopped next to their children who had been the first to arrive.

"You look beautiful, mother," Jade said friendly as she hugged Abigail tightly. "Don't you agree, Phil?"

"Very beautiful, yes," her younger twin nodded quickly. "Say, mom, isn't Izumi invited as well?"

"She is already there and scolds Edward," his father said amused.

"I really love our freaky family," Phil said before he poked Jade who glared at him. "You were daydreaming again, Jadie," he explained with a smirk.

"I wasn't daydreaming!" she said annoyed. "And stop poking me!"

"As you wish, Jadie," he teased before he walked away as Bea returned from her conversation with a member of the Amestrian Fire Lion.

"Sometimes, I really wonder why I never killed him when I had the chance," Jade muttered under her breath. "I mean … when he is annoying me like this, I really hate him."

"He is your brother that means that he is supposed to annoy you sometimes," her mother smiled.

* * *

"Jun Li!" Cai yelled while he stormed into his guardian's room where she was getting ready. "You need to help me with my tie!"

"Ask your uncle," she yelled back while she threw her brush at him since kunai and shuriken were out of reach for once. "I need to get ready as well and as long as you need no make-up, I believe that I need more time than you! And now get out and bother someone else, Cai Yao! Am I understood?"

"You are a very mean woman, Jun-Jun," he whined while he waved around the tie.

"This mean woman cooks your meals, buys the stuff you need for your studies, makes your coffee and your breakfast and does your laundry!" she said while she glared at him. "Now get the hell out of here, Cai, before I go and get my weapons!"

He rolled his eyes before he left the room. "You know that you are acting worse than Ling right now, right?" he smirked. "I mean … you hate acting like him, don't you?"

She glared at him and he hurried out of the room – just to crash straight into Min Li who was sixteen year old and a splitting image of her mother. She wore a yellow dress and her hair was down. She could have been very pretty if she would have tried a little bit. He liked her because she was just like Jun Li when she had been younger – at least that was what Lei had said. Cai had been impressed when Lei had accepted his daughter without batting an eye because even though she looked just like Jun Li, she had some trademarks of the Yao-clan and therefore Lei hadn't doubted his fatherhood.

"Min-Min, are you coming to the dance as well?" Cai asked while he struggled to get the knot right.

She nodded shyly before she bent forwards to tie the knot for him. "Yes," she said softly.

"That will be great," he said before he grabbed her hand and dragged her back to her room. "I will help you to get ready, alright? You will look like a real princess once I am finished!"

They got along just fine and she was like the older sister he had always wanted. She smiled as he brushed her hair before he put it up in a lose bun. He had learned a lot about styling hair when Jun Li had had an injured arm and hadn't been able to style her hair. Sometimes, he wondered why she never cared much about her outer appearance but then again he remembered that Victoria didn't care that much either. He asked her to sit still while he got a dress from Jun Li's room which had been abandoned when he had entered.

"You look really beautiful, Min Li," Fu said as he appeared in the doorway. "Princess and Prince, the carriage is ready and the dance awaits us."

"You are attending too?" Cai asked while he helped Min Li to get up and to get to the car.

* * *

Roy looked around in the ballroom and smiled softly. Laila and Nick were dancing in the centre of the room and as usual, they reminded him of a hurricane that would never stop. They always looked great together and since they looked so different, they managed to remember him of a school dance many years ago when Serena had danced with Maes. It had been before the blonde had stopped attending events like this and from what the chancellor remembered, everyone had enjoyed the celebration. He looked around while he sipped his water. Victoria was taking a break after twirling around on the dance floor with Cai for nearly an hour without a pause and leaned right now against a wall while she spoke with Nerissa who sat on a chair next to her. Nerissa had sent her escort and boyfriend Miles to get her more water because she was certainly out of breath. Olivier currently danced with her father-in-law while Charlotte avoided the feet of a member of parliament who wasn't a gifted dancer. Bendix laughed about this while he gracefully led Riza over the dance floor. Owen danced with Elicia nearby and chuckled as he saw Nick's and Maes' controlling looks while he waved at his own girlfriend. Phil who watched the scenario while he threw Jade high into the air laughed and nearly failed to catch his sister who purposefully stepped onto his foot – with her heeled shoes.

Roy put down his glass and made his way over to his cousins before he patted Phil's shoulder. "Mind if I steal the lady for now?" he asked with a smirk.

Phil gladly let go of Jade's shoulder and waist. "No problem, Roy," he said. "Jadie, I am getting new ice for Claudio's and Bea's feet, alright?"

The both Aerugian nobles had been involved in an earlier accident that had left them both with injured feet and therefore unable to dance any longer. Neither Bea nor Claudio had made a scene because their respective spouses were known for dancing with each other or another member of their family when Bea and Claudio were injured which happened rather often. And whenever Jade and Phil decided that they would dance with each other, everyone else was in for a great show because they had practiced and perfected their dance skills a long time ago for undercover missions.

"Don't call me Jadie," the black-haired woman hissed before she glared at her brother. "And yes, you are allowed to get more ice for my husband while I dance with my little cousin!"

Roy sighed deeply as Phil hurried away. "Just because you are taller now since you are wearing heels, it doesn't mean that you can call me your 'little cousin', Lady Mustang."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't you freak out at the idea that innocent little Vicky is already Lady Hawkeye when you call me Lady Mustang?" she taunted. "I mean … it was funnier when Lynn and I shared a room at the academy. We wrote 'Domicile of Ladies Mustang and Hawkeye' on the door and all the instructors made sure not to tick us off because you know how Lynn could get when she was mad at someone or something. I bet that I have still scars from that one time we really fought."

"The temper of the Hawkeye-women is something everyone should be afraid of."

"You live with four of them and two more are working close with you," his cousin smirked.

"You don't have to remind me of Nerissa and Serena because the latter seems to plan on killing me with all the files she wants me to sign right now," Roy groaned as he twirled her around and had her with the back to him. "Tell her that if she wants to be chancellor this badly, she could spare herself the trouble and send someone to kill me off personally."

She chuckled and it sent vibrations through both bodies. "You know that I am the only former assassin with the licence to kill in whole Amestris," she said, "and even if she would order me, I wouldn't kill off my innocent little cousin." She turned around and raised both hands to poke his cheeks. "You know that you always looked really adorable – just like a little baby, Roy-boy!"

He sighed deeply before he grabbed her sides again and lifted her into the air. She shrieked because unlike Phil, Roy had never attempted to lift his dance partner before and she had never wanted to be his guinea pig when he tried something new. Worse enough that she had helped him with perfecting his way of fighting with fire. She had been the obvious choice because she was loyal and could keep a secret and because she had never been one to worry about having perfect, unmarred skin. By now she had more scars than Roy and with the exemption of the one in her face she never bothered to hide them from anyone. She had scars from all the times she had been cut. She had scars left from his fire when they had trained. Some of her wounds had been stitched and had left impressive scars all over her body. There was hardly a body part that had never been injured though her chest still held the record because she had been injured there countless times. But most scars had faded away with the years and some of them were nearly invisible and just to find when someone touched them.

Suddenly, Jade froze. Being high up in air, she had had a far better view on the other guests and to her utmost dislike, she had spotted her cousin Londres who made her view to the crowd in a sparkling silver dress that showed off far too much skin to be decent.

"What is it, Jade?" Roy asked as she was on her feet again.

"Londres is here," the minister of science stated drily. "I knew that she was invited because she is pretty rich and influential but I didn't think that she would actually attend."

The chancellor frowned deeply and stopped dancing to rest his hands on her shoulders. "Jade, I know how much you hate her but don't blow up on her because this is what she wants," he said calmly.

She huffed slightly before she nodded. "I will try my best to stay calm," she promised before she rested her forehead against his shoulder, "but I can promise nothing. She has a unique way to get me mad."

But before the annoying woman could reach the duo, Jun Li entered the ballroom and everything changed. The Xingese woman never attempted to look great. Usually, she looked wonderful because she had been born with the elegance and the beauty of a lioness or a tigress. But when she actually tried to look beautiful, she was much more than just that. Her black hair was up in a tight knot and decorated with expensive ornaments while two strands framed her pale face. Her blue eyes were framed with eyeliner and dark grey eye shadow was on her lids. Her lips were crimson and her skin was pale and beautiful as the moon. She wore a black dress in the style of her country with red and golden highlights.

"Lady Jun Li Wei," the herald announced as the warrior woman moved down the stairs while everyone stared at her. She was well-known since her restaurant was one of the best in the whole country but she hardly went to public events.

The warrior glided through the crowd and bowed her head as she reached the chancellor. "It has been a while, Mustang," she said softly as she looked at him.

"The mission was a success, I gather?" Roy smiled at her while he kept his hands on Jade's shoulders.

"Some new scars and new injuries but really, nothing too serious," the older woman said calmly while she mentioned towards the second door where a black-haired man with the same blue eyes stood. "I believe you never met my cousin before, right?" she said casually before she turned her head. "Chao, I am over here!" she yelled.

"He looks just like you," Jade stated while she forced herself to calm down.

"Jun Li," the man said as he reached the group. "I still think that I should have stayed at home."

She smiled before she patted his shoulder. "Chao is a little bit shy," she explained. "He is a really good fighter and a great leader but he never feels too comfortable when he is on parties." She sighed before she lowered her hands again. "So, Chao, this is the chancellor, Roy Mustang, and his cousin and minister of science, Jadelina Mustang-di Padavia."

"I am very happy to meet the people my little cousin is working with since she left our family," Chao said softly as he bowed. "But, Jun Li, do you feel this too?"

She frowned as she looked at him. "Chao, you know that my sense to spot chi is far weaker than yours," she said with an adorable little pout. "Anyway, now I have it on my radar as well. I am taking care of this and you enjoy the party, alright?" She turned at Jade. "Be a dear and keep an eye on him, will you?"

* * *

Londres Mustang was slightly surprised when the Xingese woman who had spoken with her disgusting cousins before was suddenly appearing in front of her. The stranger was a beautiful woman with the coldest blue eyes the Mustang-woman had ever seen. "Londres Mustang, right?" the woman asked as she looked down at her. "My name is Jun Li Wei, owner of the Golden Dragon. Your cousin asked me to show you around a little bit because you obviously don't know who to talk with."

For a moment, Londres wondered who of her both cousins would be the trickier one, the one who would send someone to keep her away from them and while her instinct yelled that it would be Jade because Jade had always ruined everything for her, that damned woman, her rational mind said that it was Roy because Roy had always been over-protective about Jade who had always seemed to be fragile while she was one of the most cunning and strongest people Londres had ever met.

"That would be very kind of you," the blond woman who had been born with the same dark hair as most other members of her family said weakly as she looked at the Xingese woman. "Are you a friend of Jadelina and Roy?" she asked as she followed her.

"I am a friend of Phil," the restaurant owner said softly. Jun Li was a specialist for strange families because while her own family was already pretty much messed up, she had served the Imperial Family for the largest part of her life and therefore she knew a thing or two about strange families. And so she saw strange dynamics in a different way than most people.

* * *

Serena stood on the balcony and watched the stars as usual when she heard Max appearing behind her. He had joined her because he didn't like parties either and she had mentioned that she would do nothing but read all night long. She didn't mind it at all because Nerissa had nagged her about being antisocial. The blonde snorted. Her sister was being ridiculous. There was no way in hell why the head of security needed more social contacts when she already had and she gladly left acting like a love-struck fool to Nerissa and Riza.

"The stars are very beautiful tonight," Serena stated quietly as she wrapped her red scarf closer around her shoulders. She had freed herself from all the makeup she usually wore because there was no one she had to impress. Max had seen her at her worst. He had seen her scars because he had stitched her up many times when she had lived in the west. He had seen her crying and smashing everything around her after her sin, after her failure. And frankly, she was no Nerissa. She had never been graced with being ageless and always perfect. Serena was human. She was clumsy and she looked far too old for her age without the makeup she usually used to cover up the scars and the wrinkles in her face. Serena was merely at the beginning of her thirties and looked older than her own mother when she wore no makeup. She hated this. She hated how everyone looked younger than her. She hated how she couldn't look into the mirror without wondering if she aged for Lynn and Kay as well – and if Nerissa had dumped her age on her as well.

"You are still more beautiful," Max said with a smile.

She snorted. "You aren't a good liar," she said while she turned around. "I am old."

"You look older than you are, true, but every line on your face is a sign that you really, truly lived," he said. "Nerissa lived a good part of her life confined to closed rooms. You were out there, fighting your battles and standing up for what you believe in. I believe that you don't have to be afraid of going out without makeup, Serena. You don't look as old as you think."

She chuckled as she turned around and as always, she was all red and gold to him. She was probably the most impulsive and passionate among the siblings even though some soldiers in Central and WestCity would remember Lynn as being easily mad and aggressive as well but Lynn had always been silver and purple, sleek and strangely sensual in her own way. And Kay had always been green and gold, not unlike their father and Catherina. Gold and green were Creta's colours and Kay had always been oddly attached to the country behind the hills. Gold meant wealth in many senses and green meant hope –which was ironically everything Kay had left behind. Serena was rich in many ways and money was just one of the things she had too much of. She was too smart and that got her always in trouble. And she was too ambitious and could never decline a challenge.

That had always been the problem with her. She had signed up for a position in Briggs because she had seen it as the ultimate challenge and because she had felt that the fortress in the mountains was a kindred spirit and she had liked this. She had stayed undercover after Envy and the bear had nearly killed her because she hadn't been ready to face the challenge to look at Nerissa again. And then, while she had been in her exile, she had broken the taboo because she had believed that Nerissa had died. She had never thought of the possibility that Kay could have meant it in the way of 'she is dead to me' because she had forgotten after so many years that Nerissa and Kay had separated their ways with the full intention to see each other never again because it would have been lethal for both of them.

And in the end, Serena had faced her defeat. She had accepted that she had lost. She had accepted her limits as well as her punishment.

Everything had happened just like her uncle Berthold had predicted it. All of them had passed the point of no return long ago and so they couldn't do anything but moving forwards. Serena didn't knew anymore if she was flying or falling, sinking or swimming but just like everyone else of them too, she had chosen her way and her fate. And therefore it made no difference what was right or wrong now because there was no other choice for her anyway. Serena knew deep down that there had been a time when she had deserved far more than this because there was just one thing she had ever truly wanted.

And neither Nerissa nor Kay or Lynn was made of the same materials Serena had been made of and therefore, they weren't the soul mates their youngest sister needed this much. They had been willed to be there for Serena but in the end, they had failed her one after the other.

There had never been a way how one of them could have changed. Nerissa had been like ice – cold and effective but never caring enough even though she tried. Kay had been like lightening – fast and strong but often too powerful because she had destroyed far more than she has intended too. Lynn had been like the earth – stubborn and unwavering but never flexible enough. But it had been alright to Serena who had been like the wind – soft and yet unforgiving but always too free.

It had been their mother who had ruined them all. It had been their mother who had made their conversations become meaningless and stupid. Serena still doubted that their mother had ever truly cared about anything or that her mother had ever truly put her heart into anything.

Serena had searched love and appreciation in other places. She had had her friends and they had been great. She had had Hakon Buccaneer before he had been killed. She had been a valuable member of the military until she had been forced to fake her own death in order to survive. She still saw the irony in this. And later, when she had returned, she had been finally appreciated and respected for her hard work and the achievements it had brought her.

She had grown a lot since the day she had entered the military and she knew that some things would never be hers.

But still, deep down, Serena Ann Hawkeye Hamilton was still a romantic and she had never given up. She searched the true love that wouldn't end on the plateau of the Military Headquarter this time. She had no idea who she was really looking for but she knew that there had to be someone for her. She didn't want dramatic love declarations or passionate love. She was too old to long for this. She looked for something deeper, for something more real. She looked for mutual understanding and tender gazes because back in her youth, she had envied Kay for having exactly this with Charles. They had been a soft and calm couple and not this kind of all-or-nothing-love Lynn had found in Martin. (Serena was still happy for her older twin sister that she had gotten 'all' because everything else would have broken her spirit and destroyed her beyond repair.)

Serena rested her head against Max' shoulder and smiled at him. This time, it didn't feel like she was in love. This time, it felt like much more than that.


	9. 173: The Dance II

**The Dance II**

* * *

"Tori-sama!"

Victoria turned around just in time to catch Fu who had launched himself at her to hug her. "Fu," she said with a smile as she hugged him back. "It's great to see you here tonight."

"You look incredibly great tonight, Vicky," Cai said while he smirked at her. "I didn't have the chance to talk to you today because we were running late but you get prettier and prettier every time we meet."

"You want something from me, don't you?" she sighed while she frowned at him.

"What gave it away?" he asked while he lowered his head. "You are right, I need your help, Vicky."

"Can nobody be nice to me without having an ulterior motive?" the girl sighed before she ruffled Fu's hair. "You, Nick and Owen are the only people who don't ask me to help them all the time."

Being a genius was sometimes the most annoying thing in the world – especially if you had to be friendly and kind all the time even though she sometimes just wanted to scream and destroy everything. She understood now what had been another key factor to lead Nerissa astray so many years ago. Despite being different in a way, Nerissa and Victoria shared the fate to be caught in a cage made of duty and rules they just couldn't break out of. But Nerissa and Victoria had a unique gift to confuse people and to mess with their heads with their distracting and strange questions. Nerissa had been a wild teenager in a way that Victoria would never be one but nothing else had to be expected from the daughter of Peter Hamilton and Reine Hawkeye. She had seen that love always hurt – no matter if the feeling was returned or not and therefore she had been pretty much the wildest girl in the Western Area of Amestris. She had driven too fast on her motorcycle and while she had stayed away from alcohol and drugs, she had had too much fun to stop her self-destructing tendencies.

And this was exactly what Victoria did too when she was alone. They had to act like crazy in order to keep the fragile thread of sanity they still had. Victoria had taken to wreaking havoc in the training area of the state alchemists where she was allowed despite being no state alchemist. Nerissa had grown up far enough to keep her mind together and not to destroy half the town on a bad day.

Laila was probably the only one that Victoria couldn't care less if other people loved or hated her because she was far too independent to care what the press wrote about her and Serena knew her sister just too good to believe that Nerissa thought about the headlines of the next way when she did what she did best: fighting and being insane in an awesome way.

"Still, thanks for trying," Cai said with a smile. "So, you help me with getting a present for Laila, yes?"

"What else," she muttered before she nodded. "Who is the girl who tries to sneak up on me?"

Fu's eyes widened but maybe it had to be expected that a daughter of the Hawkeye-family had the same skill as her older relatives and Min Li was definitely a stranger to Laila and therefore a risk. "This is Min Li, Jun Li's daughter," the prince quickly explained. "She didn't mean to scare you, Tori-sama."

"I am sorry for scaring you, Victoria Hawkeye," the blue-eyed girl said as she looked at the younger girl with a strange expression on her face. "I was curious about the person who is already this famous despite being younger than me … but it makes sense, in a way, I guess…"

"Min Li is from the Wei-clan, just like Jun Li," Cai attempted to explain. "They are fighters."

"Nice to meet you," Victoria said while her eyes were narrowed as if she was trying to remember something very important from her past. "Excuse me please but I need to get my boyfriend away from that annoying little brat who is flirting with him."

"You are as possessive as ever," Cai stated with a smirk. "Don't you think that it is his own choice when he speak with her? And honestly, it's just Jacqueline Weisman and therefore hardly competition."

"Seeing the dress she is wearing – or better not wearing, I can understand this," Min Li said softly.

"Alright, who is in?" Fu asked cheerfully while he grabbed Victoria's arm. "I believe that none of us caused a scandal so far … let's made that thief pay!"

"You are right," Min Li said in agreement. "All my life, I was a good little girl. I believe that today is a good day to start being a better, stronger person."

"I agree," Victoria smirked as she crossed her arms. "No one tries to steal my boyfriend after all."

Roy who made the mistake to turn around to check on her just then shuddered because Victoria was truly her mother's daughter and therefore very scary when mad – and she was mad. Her eyes reminded him of fire and the way she gritted her teeth informed him that she was on the warpath.

"Riza," he said calmly as he nudged his wife. "Victoria is going all Lynn on Jacqueline."

The blonde merely shrugged. "It is what the brat deserves, seeing the way she throws herself at Owen," the first lady said amused. "It is really disgusting. I am happy that I had no time to eat."

"Shouldn't you try to stop Vicky?" Roy smirked.

"And ruining her fun? Nope, I am not in the mood to stop her from doing something ninety percent of the women in this room want to do as well," Riza replied. "And it looks like she made a new friend."

"That's great," he smiled while he wrapped an arm around her. "She always looks so gloomy when Owen has to work and can't go out with her … and maybe having a friend who has the same luxury she has will help her to get over it. But on the other hand … having too much time is annoying as well."

Together they watched how the both girls and the both boys how they made their way through the crowd. Min Li had her hair in a lose bun while she wore a pretty yellow dress that made her look younger and even lovelier than she usually was. Next to Victoria who wore black, she looked like a little child and somehow, it was fitting for the older girl.

Victoria hadn't been this mad in a very long time. The last time, she had allowed Jacqueline to get to her this badly it had been when the brat had insulted Nick. This time, it was another kind of personal matter but according to Victoria's facial expression, this would end in a very bloody way.

This was something even the most stoic among the chancellor's children couldn't stand. The red-haired girl had seen this before: Jacqueline had watched how another girl worked hard to get a boy's attention and just when the other one had been nearly reached her goal and got the boy, the damned girl and interrupted and stolen the boy from the other girl. And Victoria would rather eat Jade's oranges and get caught with all the consequences than to allow this happen to her.

"Hello, Jacqueline," Cai said frostily while he crossed his arms. "Are you enjoying yourself tonight?"

"I can't complain, Cai," she replied with a smug smirk. "I had just the most interesting conversation with Owen here. I can really understand why you like him, Victoria…"

Min Li snorted while her eyes narrowed. "And I can really understand why no one likes you," she said coldly. "To steal the boyfriends of other girls is hardly ladylike…"

"I have no clue who you are and I don't even care," Jacqueline replied haughtily. "Anyway, Victoria, be a darling and make sure that your little friends leave me alone. I haven't finished my conversation with Owen and I really want to know what a state alchemist does nowadays…"

Owen's face screamed meanwhile that he wanted to get away from this terrible girl.

"Too bad that he is my boyfriend and since I just want to dance, you will have to excuse him," Victoria said sharply while she crossed her arms. "You see … I haven't danced with him at all today."

"I am sorry, darling," Owen said while he wrapped his arm around her waist. "I really am."

"No big deal," she said amused while she smiled smugly at Jacqueline who was pale with hatred. She had hated Victoria since the first time she had heard the name at the tender age of three and her father had mentioned that Lady Helena Hawkeye who had been no one else than Victoria's biological mother was one of the richest woman in the country. Victoria was therefore the heiress of this woman and that put her in front of Jacqueline on the social ladder. Victoria was to Jacqueline what Jade was to Londres: the most terrible person on earth. Jacqueline hated the red-haired girl with passion and dreamt of ruining everything for her but whenever she had tried, she had failed somehow. But the worst thing was that Victoria's dignity was still intact, no matter how much Jacqueline had tried to take at least this from her. Somehow, it seemed like Victoria had a natural defence against everything bad life (or Jacqueline) threw at her.

"Hey, Victoria," Jacqueline hissed as the girl turned to leave with her boyfriend and her friends. "I just want to remind you of something you seem to forget: having money and a great body doesn't ensure that the friends you have really like you. I don't say that you bought them but I can imagine that some of them see the advantage of being friends with the great Lady Hawkeye, hmh?"

Min Li paled even faster than Victoria and twirled around before she punched the annoying girl with every ounce of strength she had. "If I was you, I would shut up," she growled. "And if you call Cai or anyone else a parasite again, I am going to kill you."

"Is that a threat?" Jacqueline asked while she held her bloody nose. Since she was used to broken noses by now, she didn't show her pain now like she had done it the first time.

"No," Min Li said coolly. "It's a promise."

Olivier who had watched the scene from the stairs nodded approvingly before she rushed over to her husband who was currently harassed by women who tried to flirt with him and failed miserably.

"Min Li!" her mother scolded as she reached the five young people.

"Don't be mad at her, Jun Li," Victoria said. "That … brat asked for the punch and Min Li was just kind enough to give her what she obviously wanted."

"Victoria, please stay out of this," Jun Li sighed.

"I don't regret it and no matter which punishment awaits me, I will never regret it," the girl in the yellow dress said softly. "I am sorry for disappointing you but the remark that … person uttered was nothing I could tolerate. I won't apologise and I won't pay for the ruined dress."

"You are making this difficult," the Dragon Warrior sighed. "Min Li, you have to be able to control yourself better. I know how much it bothers you when someone insults a friend of you but you need to be able to ignore this because it clouds your judgement."

"I prefer clouded judgment over allowing anyone to insult Fu's friends," the girl replied and stubbornly met her mother's gaze. It was a battle of wills and under other circumstances, Min Li would have lost but despite being usually strict and unforgiving, Jun Li saw her reason and accepted it.

"I see," she said proudly. Jun Li had feared that the strict training of their clan which neither her nor Lan Fan had ever finished because they had had other duties could have ruined her daughter's personality but it seemed like Min Li had managed to keep her own values – just like her older relatives. Even her great-grandfather Fu hadn't been the brainwashed fool the elders would have wanted to be Prince Ling's bodyguard. Fu had served the then-prince out of honest loyalty and respect and Lan Fan had done the same. Jun Li had followed her heart and had stayed loyal to her emperor even after he had given the throne to his son. And even Chao who had been a great warrior even among his clansmen had stood his ground and hadn't betrayed what he had believed in.

The Wei-clan was just as strong as its members and with all of those strong people back home, it hadn't surprised Lan Fan that her grandfather had died in peace and without fear what the future might bring to his clan. He had trusted his grandson and his other kinsmen to keep the dream alive.

"Thank you, mother," Min Li said calmly as she looked up at her mother. It was funny to see how similar they looked. During training and when she helped in the restaurants, Min Li wore her hair usually in two buns, one on each side of her head, because this had been Jun Li's hairstyle a long time ago – and on the photo Chao had showed his niece, she had had this hairstyle.

* * *

Jade faced her twin brother with the same distracted facial expression she always had when she was thinking of something important. Phil's face, however, was an exact mirror of his sister's and just as so many times before, it was impossible to find a difference between them other than their gender.

Being good martial art combatants, they had learnt to read their surroundings like books – and they didn't like what the sides were showing them. They looked at each other and a flicker of panic was in their eyes before they separated. Jade headed straight for Nerissa to tell her what was going on and Phil moved smoothly through the crowd. As he walked down the stairs to the garden, he dodged the first few bullets and went for cover. The black-haired alchemist sighed deeply before he headed straight into the battle. If he had been his father, he would have made a plan first but Phil was more Mustang than Tempest and that meant that he was too impulsive to wait until the coast was clear. Just like his mother, he attacked first and made a plan later on.

He knocked out the first few men and jumped over a fence before he looked straight at Nerissa who stood on the balcony along with Riza and Miles. They seemed to be looking for something and they didn't see the man hiding in the shadows. Phil cursed as he jumped forward but the bullet was already flying and Nerissa fell backwards while blood stained her dress. Phil heard Riza's scream but he was faster than her and the man threw backwards before Phil went through with the punch sequences his mother had forced him to learn. Usually, the alchemist had left things like this too Jade because she was the one with the clear structures but right now, he needed something to hold onto before he could lose himself in his rage. Nerissa was his friend and no one attacked his friends and got away with it.

Jade who watched her brother from the roofs where she was holding back another assassin closed her eyes for a second. _'Phil … please…'_ she thought as she twirled around to deliver a strong kick. _'Don't make Roy's mistake and lose yourself in your rage. Please … Phil … stay sane…'_

When Phil got really mad, he was too strong for anyone to handle. He had always been an incredibly powerful fighter and while Jade was often named the stronger one … she knew better. She knew that she would never be able to defeat her brother when he was really mad at something. It was frightening to see how Philippe Abel Mustang, the man who had never killed, lost his control this badly.

* * *

"Nerissa!" Riza kneeled down next to her cousin while she helplessly tried to stop the bleeding. "Can you hear me? Nerissa, don't let go now! Keep yourself together, do you hear me? Vicky or someone else will be here in a moment. C'mon, don't give up now."

Strangely clouded eyes opened slightly. "All my life, I wondered what I would say or do when an attack would really get me," the injured woman muttered softly while she looked at the stars above her. "I think I know it now: nothing. There is nothing left to say or to do for me. I did my job. In the end, I managed to fulfil my duty to the family … and it's good like this. Serena will never forgive me for dying … but she will manage. She always manages. Kay … Lynn … I … you … you know…"

Miles grabbed her hand and squeezed it. "Nessa, get yourself together!" he ordered. "C'mon – I know that you never wanted to leave like this."

She didn't respond before she slipped out of consciousness.

"Hawkeye, where do you think are you going?" Miles yelled after her as she turned to leave.

"I have a cousin to avenge," she said before she disappeared.


	10. 174: The Dance III

**The Dance III**

* * *

Maybe it was the terror in Victoria's voice as she tried to heal the shattered body while her mind screamed at her that it was pointless. Maybe it was the desperate way Nick tried to get his sister away from the lifeless body. Maybe it was the way Cai and Min Li tried to calm everyone down even though they would have more success if they would talk to a wall. Maybe it was the way Laila cried with her face buried deep into Owen's shoulder. Maybe it was the way Fu tried in vain to pull Victoria away from Nerissa because it was obviously too late. Whatever it was, it kept them away from realising the full extent of what was going on. Around them, the adults were fighting. Riza was taking revenge for the death of her older cousin while Miles tried to stop her before she would lose herself in her wrath. Jade was fighting alongside with the chancellor for the first time in many years. But because they trusted each other far more than they trusted most other people, they returned to their old performance without any problems. Nerissa's downfall had left both of them in a very dangerous and instable mood but no one was enough of a fool to attempt to stop them on their rampage. And so they fought side by side and around them was nothing but destruction. The alliance between the Fire Master and the Air Mistress had been Bradley's emergency plan but now, unleashed for the first time in a very long time, their power was frightening.

"Victoria," Nick said calmly as he tugged on her sleeve. "Give up, will you? There is nothing you could still do for her."

He was worried, not only for his sister but also for everyone else, and because he was worried, he could suppress his own sadness about his aunt's death. He was like his father: he would save whoever needed saving before he would mourn the death of those who hadn't been saved.

"But … but I promised that no one would die under my watch, Nick. I just can't give up now."

"Do what you have to do, Vicky – but I am joining the fight to do what I have to do," Laila said because she was just like the woman who had carried her for nine long months. Kay would have avenged her fallen sister as well and she would have left it to Lynn to cry over the broken body.

Min Li got up as well. "I am far more useful out there than in here as well," she said before she looked at her newfound friend. "Oh, and Victoria, don't kill yourself over this. Bad things happen and when they do, you have to deal with them. It's hard but you have to manage."

The blond and the black-haired girl left while Owen followed them. He had a duty to fulfil and even though a part of him wanted to stay with his girlfriend, he knew that there was nothing he could do for her right now. Cai brushed back his bangs before he smiled bitterly and went right after Laila before Nick waved apologetic at his sister before he went to search Elicia who wasn't with them.

"Tori-sama…" Fu whispered. "Please … even though it's hard … let go of it, please…"

She looked at him, tears in her eyes. "I … I can't…"

"Please, you are killing yourself if you don't stop…" he tried in vain to break her away from the array.

"I failed, Fu, can't you see it? I failed her! I am nothing but a failure!"

"Victoria, you failed no one," Jun Li said as she appeared in the doorway. Her hair had come undone along the fight and blood ran down her arm from where a stray bullet had grazed her. Jun Li had been the first healer to reach Nerissa after the attack and she had removed the bullet and closed the wound as good as possible before she had brought the blonde to the room where she was now. The black-haired woman kneeled down and hugged Victoria tightly. "Let go, will you? Let fate decide about her. It is not good if you kill yourself over this. She wouldn't want this from you."

The main problem wasn't even that Nerissa could die from the blood loss. It was the fact that Victoria was about to kill herself by attempting to stabilise the body permanently by healing minor injuries and no alchemist could transmute for hours. If it had been possible, the Ishbal War had been won in a matter of days – and not in many bloody months.

"I … can't let go," Victoria said. "It's a matter of honour, you see?"

Suddenly, Roy was there and took her hands before he carefully removed them from Nerissa. "Vicky, please," he said as he wiped away her tears. "Don't do this to me, yes? To lose you as well would be the end of so many dreams … and we just don't want to wake up now."

She cried openly into his chest as she wrapped her arms around him.

* * *

Phil who was still standing after Jade had collapsed earlier after being stabbed into the side once more looked around to spot his next target. His wife was safe with Jade's husband and Olivier who looked like she wanted to rip someone apart. Bendix who had fought somewhere in the garden now supported Jade who was bend over in pain. Miles had been seen earlier how he had tripped down the stairs after being hit by a stray bullet and was now in Abigail's care because Phil's mother had abandoned the battle to take care of the injured. Izumi was still on her feet but her movements were slower than usual as she fought alongside her husband.

All in all, it was a prove for the fact that even the greatest alchemists and fighters had trouble to fight back when there were civilians they couldn't afford to injure and when they were outnumbered. It was an ugly battle and Phil wished suddenly that either Nerissa hadn't been taken out at the beginning or that Serena would be there because the sisters would be very helpful during this fight – especially since Roy had left earlier to look after Victoria who had been missing.

The black-haired man sighed deeply before he saw his cousin-in-law out of the corner of his eye. Riza looked like she had just gone through hell and back. Her hair was messy, blood ran down her forehead and her dress was partly ripped apart as she fought her way through the crowd. Her eyes were strangely narrowed and bloodshot and Phil who had seen such eyes once before winced as he realised what he had to do. Jade hadn't looked better after Lynn's death and just like back then, the woman had to be stopped before she would do something she would regret later on.

"I hate my life," Phil muttered before he ran up the stairs to get to his cousin-in-law who was currently stabbing and kicking her own path through the mass of the attackers. He threw his last shuriken to keep the men who were coming after him at bay before he grabbed Riza's arm, dodged her knife (since when did she use them, anyway?), winced as she glared at him and finally dragged her into an empty room and locked the doors. If she wanted to return to battle, well, she would have to go through him.

"Let me go!" the blonde ordered as she stepped forward.

"Sorry, Riza, but I would lose my job and probably my life if I would allow you to return to battle," he said while he leaned against the door. "I can understand that you are angry and upset but…"

"You understand nothing! I've been through this pain three times before. I have suffered when Serena _died_ but I got my act together and went on like nothing happened. It was harder when it was Lynn because we were closer yet somehow, I kept working because I knew that I wasn't all alone yet. I wasn't the last one from the five Hawkeye-cousins, you see? When Kay died, I was seconds from giving everything up and searching her killer without any help. If it hadn't been for Laila, I would have gone to kill whoever had murdered her and … would have died by Envy's hands," she hissed. "And now, I am put through this hell again. Nerissa is like a sister to me. I would like to see you if it was Jade or Roy!"

"I understand better than you think, Riza," he said calmly as he twisted the knife away from her hands and rested his hands on her shoulder. "I've been there as well, remember? When we were thirteen, Jade was kidnapped and I lived two weeks with the knowledge that she might be dead … and that it would be my fault if she had died because I made her run and get kidnapped. To know nothing is far worse than knowing that someone isn't any longer, believe me."

"So, if you have been there as well – why don't you let me take my revenge?" she asked.

"Because … I have seen the truth about hatred and the thirst to avenge someone," he said softly as he dropped the knife. "It makes you blind to the truth. You don't help Nerissa or anyone else if you fight like a maniac and get injured or worse, killed as well. Neither Nessa nor Kay nor Lynn would want you to follow them down the path without return. I understand, believe me. I understand far better than you think I do. Image it would be Roy, mad with anger and driven by the desire to kill whoever is responsible for the death of someone extremely close to him. Imagine it would be Roy, trying to kill the bastard who poisoned Victoria. You would stop him as well because … he wouldn't be himself." Black eyes shone with sympathy. "I am going to stop you … even if it costs my own life because … Lynn was Jade's best friend. And she was my friend as well. I know how you feel, Riza, but … I can't let you fall that deep. I can't do that to Roy and the children." He chuckled darkly. "Funny, Uncle Abel always said that I might fall from a friend's hand. I never understood because a traitor is no friend anymore. Now … now I see what he meant."

She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip as she took her hands from his neck. "Damn you, Phil," she whispered. "Why did you have to see me?"

"I was looking for you," he said as he rubbed his sore throat. "I kinda expected you to snap because even the former Ice Queen of East and Central City can't take the death of a relative without showing any emotion."

* * *

To see his daughter like this tore Roy's heart apart. He had tried to protect her from this but in the end he had been unable to protect her from this first failure … just like he had been unable to prevent Lynn from attempting to keep a lost case alive. He had been there before. He had held Lynn while she had cried. He had seen how the pointless guilt had eaten her alive. And just like back then, he could do nothing but hug the young woman and to wipe the tears away … and the fact that nothing he could say or do was the worst punishment anyone could ever give him.

"Vicky," he said softly while he patted her shoulder. "Victoria, calm down. You didn't fail her. If anyone failed her, it was me because I told her to go with Riza and Miles. It wasn't your fault that this was her fate. It was my fault if there is anyone to blame. Please, don't do this to yourself."

But Lynn had left to many traces on her daughter and Victoria had taken her mother's philosophy that failure was never an option. She was too much like her mother and up to this day, Roy had been happy that this last reminder of the silver-haired woman hadn't been lost. Now he wished that Victoria would be more like Kay who would have shrugged and said that she would be better the next time because if Victoria would be like her aunt, she wouldn't suffer this badly.

"I am fine," she said but her eyes betrayed the lie. "I am fine, daddy. You don't have to be here with me. You can go back to the battle. Mommy needs you probably more than I … or Aunty Jade…"

"Jade probably slightly injured and bitching at whoever who is dumb enough to tell her that she has to take a break and I said Phil that he should keep an eye on Riza before I came to look after you," he said while he rubbed her back. "Vicky, you don't have to go through this alone. You need to get used to the fact that you can't heal everyone. There will always be people you just can't heal and you need to accept that. Lynn … she has been there as well, you see? She tried to hide how much she suffered and was close to killing herself when Kay and I found her. I never want to see something like this again."

"I … I just don't know what to do now," she whispered as she looked up at him. "I always had another plan – just in case that something would go wrong. But now … Nerissa … why? That's just not fair…"

"I hate to break the news to you but life is hardly fair, Vicky," he said while he took a glass of water from the table next to him. "Here, drink a little bit and try to collect your thoughts. And if it makes you feel better: Jade said that she never expected this to happen either because Nerissa is not the type who goes down that easily. She didn't even have the chance to fight back with makes it even worse."

"Serena will hate me for letting Nerissa die, I know it."

"Serena knows better than anyone else that Healing Alchemy isn't the answer to everything," Olivier said as she entered the room. "I heard from Jun Li that you feel like a failure – and I just came to tell you that you will never be a failure in my eyes. You came so far, Vic, and now you honestly want to lay down your weapons? Honestly, if I or your daddy would have given up every time something wasn't going like we wanted it or whenever someone died, Amestris would be still under Fuhrer Bradley. It is hard to learn to deal with defeats and even harder with the death of someone close … but you are Lynn's and Martin's daughter. You aren't the kind of girl who gives up easily."

"Great motivation talk, Olivier," Roy said casually as he looked at his foreign minister. "So, what do you want from us, Armstrong?"

"It's still Armstrong-Llewellyn and it would be nice if Vic would heal the minor wound on my forehead. I know that you probably used a lot of energy on Nerissa but please, Vic."

"How can you still trust me after I failed to save Nerissa?" Victoria asked with a haunted expression on her face. Edward who had entered right after Olivier knew this expression just too well. He had looked just the same for years after he had failed to revive his mother and after he had faced the consequences. It was the look of an alchemist who had lost every faith in the own skills.

"Vicky," he said smoothly before anyone else could say something. "When I was in Creta, I heard a saying: _whenever you drop from your horse, just get back up again_. If you start to doubt yourself, you can burn all your books and stop dreaming of being a doctor. Olivier and I, we will never stop having faith in you and your abilities – and your father will also always believe in you. So don't try to tell us that we are mistakes because we clearly outnumber you. Heal the wound on Olivier's forehead and try to smile again. Whatever will happen next isn't in your hands anyway and shouldn't concern you that much. Nerissa would never want you to bury your dream just because of her."

"And what do you want?" she snorted before she quickly healed Olivier's wound that looked nearly as if a certain blond alchemist with a ponytail who used to wear a red coat had scratched her on purpose but that couldn't be because Olivier would never get purposefully hurt.

"Well, when I came here, my hand met Olivier's sword and Winry might throw a wrench at me if she sees me like this…" the aforementioned blond and ponytail-wearing alchemist muttered.

"I see," Roy chuckled as he looked at the duo.

The thing was that neither of the blondes was especially subtle. Honestly, the chances that Edward could have really touched the sword on accident were close to nothing and that Olivier would have allowed anything to get close enough to her to scratch her forehead was equally ridiculous. Hell, even Louis could have made a better job at injuring his sandbox playmate in a subtle way that Victoria could heal them and see that she wasn't as much of a failure as she obviously thought.

And Louis was merely a toddler and therefore not really skilled at hurting people.

* * *

Laila was bandaging Nick's upper arm where a bullet had scratched him and shook her head at his recklessness as she turned around to see her mother coming down the stairs, followed by Phil. It was over, the fight, everything and now they had to pick up the pieces. Min Li sat on the stairs with her head rested against her father's shoulder as she tried to keep her arm still for it had been broken. It was a miracle that Nerissa had stayed the only one who was in danger … and it had led Catherina to the conclusion that most of the attack had been a cover-up for the assassination. Some of the assassins had been caught alive, one was dead, killed by a bullet from one of his own comrades and countless others had been able to get away by the times the police and some soldiers had arrived.

Most of the guests had gotten away with nothing but some had minor scratches.

"I really hope that Vicky is alright," Nick said while he looked at his eldest sister.

"She looked terrible when we left," Cai said as he sat down next to them. "I really hope that she recovered by now. Sure, to lose Nerissa would totally suck but hey, it's life and we can't change it."

"Great to see that you are worried about Nerissa," Nick growled.

"Sorry but I just think that you should worry more about the living than about the dead. I am worried about what might happen when Serena finds out that Victoria couldn't fix Nerissa in time," he said. "I don't say that Serena will go all psycho on her … but she has a way to make people feel guilty…"

"Serena is usually very rational as long as she doesn't get mad at something or someone," Nick stated.

"And you don't think that Nerissa's fate might freak her out?" Phil asked as he crossed his arms.

"My cousin is usually very silent and very collected but she is still one of the persons I would never make angry," Riza stated. Her eyes were back to normal and she looked like nothing had happened. "It would be smart to tell her everything very calm and slowly before she can freak out."

"Too late, Riza," the sharp and harsh voice of Serena resounded in the destroyed hallway. "I don't think that you truly thought that such a fight would get past me. It might have happened out of Central's walls but I heard from it anyway. Nerissa … is she really dead or just unconscious?"

Around her, everyone lowered his or her head and tried to avoid her eyes.

"I believe that I just asked you a question," she said dangerously soft.

"When I left her to avenge her, she had just fallen unconscious," Riza said slowly. "I don't know, sorry."

"That would explain why you were Kay's favourite," the other blonde replied drily. "My sister would have been very impressed by your honourable attempt to avenge her twin sister, I am sure of it."

"Serena, please don't take your grief out on Riza," Phil said calmly while he ran a hair through his sweaty hair. No matter what the agent movies said: tuxedos weren't made to fight in them and he was the living proof of this fact.

"And why do you think that you are the right person to stop me, Philippe?" Serena hissed but underneath her anger, the black-haired man saw how hurt and scared she was. She had never intended to bury another sister.

* * *

Jun Li sighed deeply as she unwrapped Nerissa's chest which had been covered in bandages to check if anything had improved. The last time she had checked heartbeat and breath, both had been irregular and slightly too slow but now, Nerissa was nearly back at her old results from the yearly check-up.

"Hell, if I ever had someone like you on my squad, back in the days, I would have killed you," the Xingese woman announced as she rewrapped the injured area with new bandages. "The suspense if you decide to live or if you allow yourself to die is killing all of us slowly. Phil said that Riza totally snapped … and Victoria is angsting because of you, you fool."

Jun Li was a good friend of Nerissa's and while she would usually never speak with a friend like this, she would always scold her friends for being reckless and getting hurt.

"Nice to hear how you think about me, Wei," a hoarse voice muttered before Nerissa sat up and coughed out blood. "How long was I out and how are the others?"

"Everyone is very worried and you were out for nearly an hour which is your new record."

"Hell, I feel like a whole army walked straight over my body…" Nerissa said as she wiped away the blood from her mouth. "But somehow, despite the fact that I was just shot, I feel good…"

"Victoria healed every little scratch you had," Jun Li stated as she washed her hands and leaned against the sink. "I wouldn't have done this. This is far too troublesome in my eyes and pointless as well."

"To be your friend is far more dangerous than being your enemy," the blonde complained.

"Isn't that exactly the reason why you are my friend?"

"That's true," she chuckled before she stopped and winced in pain.


	11. 175: Preparing for the storm

**Preparing for the storm**

* * *

Edward leaned against the doorframe while he watched how Jade worked. Every once in a while, she hissed in pain and held her side where she had been stabbed three days ago. She had been told that she should rest and recover for at least a week but she had returned to work early because she thought that she couldn't afford to waste time since the new threat was a serious problem. The blond man knew about the headache the fact that Nerissa had been assassinated caused his boss. Jade had been responsible for the security along with Serena who hadn't been there and therefore, Jade considered the fact that Nerissa was currently in hospital after avoiding death by mere seconds as a failure on her side – and everyone who knew her knew that Jade Mustang had never been one to allow herself to fail. This was the reason why she was currently working herself to death.

"Good morning, Mustang," the male alchemist said as he entered the office and handed her a cup of coffee. "You are already back to work? I was sure that I would be the first one in the office today…"

She huffed as she emptied the cup. "I didn't leave yesterday," she said as she rubbed her temples. "Roy would kill me if he knew that I am not sleeping enough but who is he to judge me?"

"He is your older cousin and your superior," Edward stated with a little shrug. "He can judge you."

It was strange to him to see the usually so strong and unfaltering Jade Mustang like this, like he could break her with one hand. But it was also very bittersweet because she looked like she had died twenty times while she had read hundred of files and today, she looked like her heart bleed inside of her.

"Edward," she said seriously as she pushed one of the files in his direction. "Look at this."

"Don't tell me that we have a file on one of these bastards," he sighed as he opened it.

"We didn't have one until yesterday night," she said. "The Cretan and the Drachman Secret Service had and they were both kind enough to give it to us."

He flipped through the file and his eyes widened before he looked back at her. "You have to be kidding me, Mustang," he said as he shook his head. "They can't be serious about this!"

"Oh, I wished I was kidding, Elric," she sighed. "But it is the reality, no matter how crazy it sounds."

And sometimes, finding answers meant forgetting all of the questions because a question was safer than an answer because it would never hurt as much. The 'truth' the files contained were the supposed reason for the war Monte Bandeo had declared against Amestris, Xing, Creta, Aerugo and Drachma. They tried to justify this war as revenge for the fact that these five countries traded their products mainly between themselves.

For Edward it was like watching the truth been carried to the grave.

He wondered if Jade saw this the same way he saw it: as a huge lie. Faked reasons would never cloud his eyes and the illusions someone tried to create in front of him faded in the sunlight like they had been written in water and the memory of such a lie would never keep him waiting for something that just didn't exist. He had learnt his lesson a long time ago. He would never search something mystical.

But Jade … he looked at Jade who seemed so lost in her thoughts, just like she had lost who she was. And he couldn't understand how a heart that had been broken so many times could still beat and how she could still see and accept love when everyone else who had seen the same things had rejected love out of fear to be hurt again.

Still, life was life and hardly fair but Jade was a woman of the principle 'Less words and more carry on' because no matter what had happened to her, she had never given up on her dream.

But still, Edward knew that if she was right, it would be the beginning of the end and maybe, this day was the proof of the way fate killed all the faith they had had that this war would be avoided. Edward had to admit that he had hoped that there would be a way out, a way to avoid the losses of so many Amestrians. Still, in a way, this war was fairer than the Ishbal War because it would be soldiers against soldiers and not soldiers against defenceless civilians.

He wondered if she saw the same things he saw now: all the wasted years and all the wasted victories which were worthless now because all was lost – besides the hope that would drive them forward once more since this war was far from over – because the peace they had promised their country wouldn't come yet. The whole affair had merely begun and even Jade wouldn't give up without a fight, Edward knew this better than most people.

But somehow, the sun broke through the clouds and the light reached into the office of the minister of science and made her look strong once again. No matter how fragile and shattered she might seem, she was still where she belonged to and one day, Edward knew, her strength would return completely.

* * *

Min Li strolled through the empty hallways of the hospital while she looked for Victoria's room. The younger girl's desperate attempt to save Nerissa's life had left her exhausted and to make sure that she would get all the rest she needed and that she wouldn't do anything that could endanger her again, she had been sent to hospital where she was currently recovering. Nick who had been grazed by a bullet had been allowed to go home after a quick check-up while Nerissa was supposed to stay in hospital for at least another week because the doctors didn't trust Healing Alchemy and Alkahestry enough.

The Xingese girl sighed as she walked slowly through another hallway while she had her arms crossed over her chest. Min Li wore a yellow dress that reached down to her knees with a pair of black leggings underneath while her hair was styled into two buns, one next to each ear and each adorned with artificial flowers. Her hair was still slightly moist; not only from the hair but also from the shower she had taken after her training. Min Li absentmindedly rubbed a bruise on her forearm where she had blocked a punch from Chao earlier while she thought about how lucky she was. Despite his grief and his anger about the things Jun Li had done, Chao had never been able to hate her and therefore, he had told Min Li the whole truth when she had been six. He had told his niece about all the great things her mother had done before she had left and he had shown her pictures from a younger Jun Li, one who had been merely six years old. Back then, Jun Li had worn her hair in two tight buns right next to her ears with pink ribbons – a last attempt to keep the fact that she was a little girl in mind. She had forgotten about things like this soon afterwards and she had been just one of the guys until she had met Lei Yao and until she had risked everything – from her honour and her family's reputation to her own health. This had been one of the reasons why Uncle Yao had been unhappy about the fact that Min Li's mother had been a couple with the youngest son of the Yao-prince. From the stories she had been told, the girl assumed that her uncle had scorned her father more for ruining Jun Li's health three times than for risking to be found out and to be shunned by everyone in Xing because it was just not fitting for a female guard to have a romantic relationship with her master's youngest son – no matter how good-looking and skilled said son might be.

She sighed deeply as she knocked against the door which promptly opened as Nerissa who was supposed to rest in her own bed left the room. "Good morning," Min Li greeted with a little bow.

"Morning, Min Li," Nerissa said before she stretched. "Already up and visiting Vicky?"

"Uncle Chao said I wasn't focused enough and made our training shorter than usual," she replied.

"You should join Jade or Phil when they train sometimes – it is a very … interesting experience."

"I heard from Cai that this is very disturbing experience and therefore I don't know if I really want to destroy the remains of my sanity by exposing them to the Twins of the Doom," Min Li smiled.

"You overheard your mother talking about them, huh?" the blond woman smirked. Nerissa had not ears like Serena had them and therefore she would never be able to hear everything but she had a good instinct just like Kay and that had made it possible to guess whatever everyone was thinking.

"It was more like hearing what she and Uncle Chao yelled at each other during their own training."

"Yes, they are both very … expressing in their feelings and their opinions when they fight, I know."

"Did you ever fight against my mother?" Min Li asked as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Just a few times," the alchemist replied calmly. "She is very talented but her fighting style clashes with mine. Cretan martial arts are supposed to keep the opponent close to yourself while you block everything he throws at you. Xingese martial arts often require a certain distance – something she doesn't get when she fights me, for obvious reasons."

"My mother mentioned that most Amestrian alchemists are very skilled in hand-to-hand combat…"

"We have to be since we usually get too close to an opponent to use guns or other weapons besides knifes," Nerissa explained with a shrug. "Anyway, I need to get back to my room before a nurse can report me as missing. Did I ever mention how much I hate hospitals?"

"Quite some times, Miss Hawkeye," a doctor with brown hair sighed, "but you still have to follow my colleague's orders while I check on your niece. I will make sure that both of you will released soon."

"Good morning, Doctor Knox," Nerissa said before she waved and disappeared in the hallways.

"You are Min Li Wei, Jun Li's daughter, right?" the doctor asked as he looked at the girl.

"Yes, sir," she replied while she followed him into the room where Victoria slept peacefully.

"How is her arm? She seemed to have some trouble with it when I checked on her after the fight…"

"She already recovered from her injuries," the girl said friendly. "She needed Cai's assistance for her hair for two days or so but by now, everything is fine again. Maybe she heals faster than most people because her body is used to being injured after so many years of being a guard…"

"I just don't get hwy the colleagues who reached the area first wanted Victoria to stay in hospital," the doctor said as he shook his head. "She recovers the best at home and I made this comment in her file."

"I believe that they just wanted to show the chancellor that they care a lot about his daughter," Min Li shrugged. It wouldn't surprise her because she had seen similar things when she had been still in Xing.

"Still, the chancellor is someone who likes to have the people he cares for close to him," a gruff voice said as an older doctor entered. "Mustang is someone who is very into this whole family-thing."

"And he has good reasons for this, father," the younger doctor said strictly. "He has lost so many people he cared for … it doesn't surprise me that he wants to make sure that those who are still left are safe."

"He lost half of his oldest friends … I believe that I can understand it," the older man said with a sigh before he nodded at Min Li. "I hope you can excuse my impoliteness, girl. My name is Ralph Knox, I am his father and a doctor myself … but I hope that I will never meet you as a … patient 'cause I work in the cellar … in the forensic pathology, you see?"

"Oh well, so I hope that I will never have to be your patient either," she said with a smile. "I am Min Li."

"Jun Li's daughter, I guess," he sighed. "I always eat in her restaurant after my nightshift because my son here tries to tell me that I should avoid eating too much fat because of my heart even though I never had a heart attack. And my wife even supports him!"

"It's because mother knows that I am right," his son replied amused before he raised an eyebrow. "Was there a reason why you came upstairs, father? You are usually downstairs…"

"Yes, that's true but I heard some rumours and I wanted to ask you, my son, if they are true."

"It's new to me that you care about rumours, father," the younger doctor said with a calm smile.

"Usually, I wouldn't give a damn about the things they say but this time … they were about you, Max."

His son rolled his eyes. "What did they say, father?" he sighed.

"They talked about you and a certain golden-haired head of security you are really close since she came back from the death," the older man said. "Max, I told you to be careful!"

"Father, Serena is a great woman and I really like her but frankly, don't you think that I am old enough to make this kind of decision without your input? Please, let me make my own decisions."

"I allow you to make your own decisions, boy, because I know that you usually know what you are doing." Doctor Knox senior nodded at Min Li who bowed slightly. "I am sure that I will see more of you at other occasions, Min Li. Tell your mother that I said hello, will you?"

"Of course," she said as she looked how he walked away in a hurry.

* * *

The room was nearly empty. The mirrors at the wall showed nothing but the reflection of two people who sat on the floor while they tried to catch their breath. The woman's black hair had come undone sometime during the fight and fell down to her waist as she rested for a moment. The man had his fists on the floor while he leaned forward and beads of sweat ran down his face.

"Great fight," the woman in the doorway said as she entered the room. "A fight like it had to be expected from the great heirs of the Wei-family. Just too bad for you, Jun Li, that you are tired now."

"I could never be tired enough to allow you to defeat me," the blue-eyed woman said as she got up. "I just hoped that you had learned your lesson by now, Qiang from the Fei-clan," she added smoothly.

"You are one of the few people who ever dared to defy my wishes and to ruin my plans," the ex-princess hissed as she took out some kunai.

"I always do what is best for our country," Jun Li said as she somehow managed to get back to her feet and she threw her wet jacket into the corner of the room. She had trained for five hours without a break before and despite the cold temperature in the hall, thick beads of sweat had drenched everything. There was a difference if she sparred with Jade who was a hand-to-hand combat master for Amestrian standards or if she sparred with Chao who was a great fighter in Xingese standards – and after training with her cousin, Jun Li always showered cold to cool her body down again. So now, after five hours, she was tired and exhausted. Still, her skill had improved while she had trained with her cousin again because he was good as well and to avoid being beaten in mere minutes, Jun Li had to work harder than she had worked in years – and she liked the challenge.

"Showing off your body won't help you against me," Qiang said smoothly as she rolled her eyes.

Jun Li merely huffed as she pushed back her bangs. Under her training jacket, she had worn just chest bindings and the bandages from the injuries she had suffered during the last fight even though they were slightly red because the one or the other wound had reopened after being hit. _It was funny_, she mused, _how much she had returned to her old ways._ She trained with Chao nearly daily and _loved_ how much this did for her shape. She wore her black training pants and her red training jacket just like she had done when she had been a child and if she would style her hair into two buns, she would look just the way she had looked when she had been six again.

"Jun Li, be careful," Chao sighed as he stepped back because he knew that his cousin had to do this alone to feel strong again. "The last thing Xing can afford right now is to lose you in such a petty fight."

"Like I said: I know what's best for my country," she said while she rebound her hair to a high ponytail on top of her head. "So, brat, don't you think that it's time to settle this issue."

"Good to see that you are still unable to run away from the ultimate opponent!" Qiang yelled.

"Don't give yourself too much credit," Jun Li sighed as she unsheathed her favourite sword.

The lunatic ex-princess charged at her without any moment of hesitation and Jun Li merely avoided the blade that came for her throat. Her blue eyes narrowed as she blocked the next kunai with her own. She threw her sword to the sides where it ended up in the wall and took some kunai from her belt. Her aim had greatly improved since the last time she had fought Qiang and somehow, she wondered for a moment if she should risk killing the annoying princess by fighting the same way she would fight every other idiot who attempted to murder her whenever she was seen.

Another blade cut through the skin on her cheek but she jumped backwards and wiped away the blood before she threw three kunai at once and pinned Qiang to the wall behind her.

"You see, working on your aim paid off after all the years you complained," Chao stated.

"It is supposed to," she replied as she brushed back a strand of her hair that had escaped her ponytail.

* * *

Min Li entered the kitchen of the restaurant with a slightly depressed expression on her face. Victoria had been incredibly unhappy when the older girl had visited her and while she had tried to hide it behind a mask of faked cheerfulness and Min Li had been shocked to see her this way before she had understood: her friend didn't want to burden anyone and so she tried to hide her pain from everyone else even though it meant to suffer in silence.

"Min Li, already back from visiting your friend?" the old cook asked. Chen Bo was a former bodyguard like Jun Li and he had served the Yao-clan until his retirement twenty years ago. As a former co-worker of the owner of the Golden Dragon, he had tracked her down in Amestris after he had heard that she had left and when he had found her, he had joined the crew. As a bodyguard, he had been the same level of skill Jun Li's late grandfather Fu had had and while Chen had never been as talented with weapons as other bodyguards, he was a marvellous hand-to-hand combatant and he had even created a way to make his opponents unable to move by hitting some of their pressure points. As a cook, he was one of the best but due to his high age, Jun Li was already looking for a replacement even though it broke her heart. She had promised him, though, that he would stay with her and her family after his retirement because he had been an important part of the success of the Golden Dragon.

"I am home, Chen," she smiled as she leaned against a counter.

"You seem depressed and unhappy, Min-Min," the old man said with a sigh. "Tell me, princess, what is the problem? Was your friend mean to you?"

"Vicky is still exhausted and I am not sure if she will ever recover from this," she said. "I felt so useless. I am a walking disaster when it comes to weapons and I never learnt anything to make up for this."

"Lacking skill with weapons is nothing you should be ashamed for, Min Li," he said calmly as he put down a cup of tea in front of her. "I was never talented with weapons either but as you know, I was still a good bodyguard. I could teach you some of my old skills, Min Li. You need to be able to defend yourself just in case that something happens. Your mother would never forgive me if you would die."

"My mother is usually not interested enough in my fate to complain about my death."

"Min Li, the bitterness in your heart will weaken you considerably and one day, it might kill you," Chen said calmly as he took a knife from the board at the wall. "Look at this, Min Li: your mother loves you and I know that she suffered greatly from the decisions she had to make in her youth."

"Still, will you teach me?" she asked hopefully as she looked at him. "I am sick and tired of being beaten by Cai whenever we train. It annoys the hell out of me that I am older and still can't defeat him."

"Why do you want to beat him anyway, Min Li?" the old man asked softly as he smiled at her.

"He is younger than me, a little brother and I feel like I am supposed to protect him," she replied. "And because I feel like I bring shame over my family by losing."

* * *

"Elric," Roy said as his old subordinate entered his office.

"Long time no see, Colonel Bastard," the blond alchemist smirked smugly. "I heard from Jade that you are searching agents who want to protect Victoria. I volunteer."

"I am sorry but I can't allow this," the chancellor said. "You know why."

Edward nodded as he looked down. He should have known that Roy wouldn't allow him to protect Victoria. His story with the girl was long and sad. He had been invited to her house once before her parents' death and during the conversation he had dropped the hints that had led Lynn into investigating the Fifth Institute – and therefore, Edward had been part of the reason why Lynn and Martin had died. Roy knew this and he knew how guilty Edward felt about this. Therefore, he would never allow anyone to hurt Victoria even though it meant endangering everything else.

Edward still felt bitterness about Lynn's and Martin's death because it had been so idiotic of him to tell them what he knew. He should have known that they would be killed if they would mess around with opponents like Envy but he had trusted Lynn's skill and Martin's high intelligence.

"Yeah, I know," he sighed as he looked at his boss. "I would probably tell everything once someone threatens to torture her in case that I am not telling the secrets of our country."

"And this is the problem," Roy said with a sigh. "It sounds probably very cruel since I am her father but as long as we are in war, we need to see the possibility that something very bad might happen to a member of our inner circle, yes, we have to face the fact that anyone of us might be killed in this war."

"How can you look at Jade, Phil and your aunt when you know that all of them will be sent into battle very soon?" Edward asked curiously.

"I try not to think about it."

"And when it happens?"

"Jade and Phil were trained for this case. They know their strengths but also their limits. They will come home as victors … because no member of our family would ever allow himself to fall."

"It sounds like a desperate attempt to lie to yourself," Edward remarked drily.

"The last thing I need right now is to worry about them. I have to put my faith into their abilities."

"And you really think that they can survive a war?"

"If I wasn't sure, I would have done something to stop him. Air Alchemy was created for the battlefield. The three of them will come home safely."

"What about Owen?" Edward asked. "He will be there as well, right?"

"Sadly, yes," the chancellor sighed. "Do me a favour and keep an eye on him. To lose him would be the blackest day in Victoria's life since the day her parents were murdered."


	12. 176: Preparing for the war

**Preparing for the war**

* * *

While Min Li was still training and while Nerissa was recovering, the war came closer and closer. Ling brought his daughter Ai and some of his younger half-sisters to Central City where they would be protected while Tsar Ivan followed the example and brought his wife and his son to the Amestrian capital where everything would be coordinated. Olivier looked paler and paler with every passing day because this was her war to fight and she was incredibly happy when the former Fuhrer and his wife returned from their retirement. Roy started to create escape plans for his family and friends just in case that everything would go wrong and Central City would fall into the enemy's hands. Jade and Jun Li started to prepare the alchemists and Alkahestry users for the war even though both women didn't want the war to come any closer.

"Considering the current amount of supplies we are buying, the war will be there very soon," Timms said as he visited Stevens who was still in the hospital. "If I was you, I would stay here for another three weeks because I don't think that it would take Amestris more time to win the war. Armstrong, Grumman and Llewellyn are worlds better than Bradley and his old crew when it comes to strategy."

"I am still concerned about my country," Stevens said while her scarred face formed a worried expression. "We haven't been in war since Ishbal … and this was a rather one-sided fight. This time, our army is going up against a high-trained army which will be more of a problem than the Ishbalan civilians who didn't even know what hit them. Furthermore … this time, we are in the defence which is a completely new situation for our soldiers … just like it is to fight alongside the Drachman, Aerugian, Xingese and Cretan armies instead of against them."

"And you are sure that you don't want to join the strategy command, precious rose?" Timms asked.

"What I am stating here and now is nothing but mere facts any idiot should be able to see," she replied with a huff. "Sure, since I used to be part of a high command before, I would be more than qualified to join them in the high command but I see no reason to involve myself with this war as long as it hasn't even started. Maybe I will change my opinion later on when it looks like we are losing but for now, I have more than enough to do with my own recovery."

Timms looked at her and for a moment, he wondered if he should talk to her doctors and ask them to speed up her healing process with better medicine and better treatments before he remembered that his beautiful lily was already treated with the best stuff available because the chancellor felt indebted to her because she had managed to retrieve the antidote that had stabilized the situation of Victoria, the chancellor's daughter. The agent pitied his old partner. She had been a brilliant agent and the idea that she would waste away her days of youth in a hospital out of bitterness over her failure made him sick. It wasn't the right thing for her. She had deserved far more than this but fate had punished her severely for attempting to rise over her own limitations.

Suddenly, the door swung open and eight persons walked into the hospital room, ignoring the nurse who tried to tell them that the patient needed rest in order to recover before a certain redhead shut her up with an angry glare. Stevens had a hard time to believe what her eyes were showing her. It was nearly impossible that the three oldest children of the chancellor had come alongside with their respective girlfriend and boyfriends and two friends just to visit her who was merely an agent.

"Sorry that it took us so long to stop by," the blond girl announced as she sat down on a chair.

"Yeah, we had to break into Serena's office first to get the data who you are and in which hospital you are recovering," her brother added with a serious nod. "But we got Jun Li to distract Serena for a moment and Laila and Cai retrieved the files we needed … so, here we are."

"I am very sorry that you got injured on the mission that dealt with getting the antidote for the poison in my body," the red-haired girl went on as she lowered her head. "I hate it when people get hurt just because they try to help me … Jade was there before … I am so, so sorry…"

"Vicky, don't apologise for what happened to Miss Jade," the tall young man behind her sighed as he rubbed her shoulders. "You were a baby when this happened, remember? You could do nothing."

"Please, don't be sorry for what happened to me," Stevens said as she bit her lower lip. "I will recover."

"According to these files here, you should have recovered a long time ago," the girl with the buns next to her ears said as she lowered the folder she had been flipping through. "I am no doctor but I can see that the real doctors are wondering why you didn't recover yet." She looked up while her eyes narrowed. "On the other hand … your chi is blocked on countless points. It looks worse than mine after training with Chen … and that means something. Maybe the recovery would speed up if we would unlock the flow of chi in your body … it would be good again the constant pain in any case, Miss."

"I could never recover in such a room," the blonde added. "Maybe we should try something there…"

"I think that we should let Min Li unlock the flow of chi first before we try anything else," the little boy who clung to the red-haired girl's arm smiled. "I am sorry, Laila, but that is a serious matter."

"The flow of chi is difficult to reconstruct but Min Li is a true genius when it comes to this. She can feel the flow of chi and therefore easily recreate a smooth and easy flow," the older Xingese boy smiled. "It will take her a few minutes to unblock the flow if you allow her to do so, Miss Stevens."

"Thank you, Miss Stevens," the blue-eyed girl said as she stepped closer to the bed after the young woman had nodded. "Could you please sit up and turn your back in my direction? It would make it easier for me to free the chi because that would speed up your recovery considerably."

Stevens looked at the young girl in the yellow dress with the black leggings and the two buns. She was surely a lovely young lady even though she looked younger than she was with her hairstyle. "Thank you very much for helping me," she said carefully before she felt how the girl poked into her back and her shoulders which hurt slightly before she felt how new energy was released.

"And now, the chi flows beautifully," the boy said with a smile. "It feels much … clearer now and far more pure than before. Min Li, you really know what you are doing."

"To unlock the chi is something Chen was teaching me before he started to teach me how to lock it," she said calmly as she stepped back. "He said that he wouldn't hand me the poison before I have the antidote for it because well … it is very dangerous to seal chi, Fu, and I don't want to go too far."

"Well, if it's like this…" the blonde smirked as she clapped her hands. "Miss Stevens, we are going to make you feel really, really pretty because I think that you would recover faster if you feel well in your own skill … at least Nessa always sends me showering and dressing up when I don't feel good…"

* * *

Olivier felt strange as she looked into the mirror. Her long hair was still was golden as it used to be eight years ago when she had been summoned into the high command by her father-in-law but somehow, she felt like she looked younger now than she had looked when she had taken place on one of the red chairs in the circular office for the first time. Bendix had mentioned the same thing – that she was just like his mother, looking older than she was in her youth and looking younger than she was the older she get. He had never called her old because he knew that she would always remind him that he was only one day younger than her.

Still, it had to be her new hairstyle that made her feel younger than she actually was and she smirked at her reflection. Laila wasn't only a genius when it came to houses and other buildings but she was also very good in helping other people to find a style that made them look good without trying to look like someone the person would never be. Other people would have tried to force Victoria into frilly pale dresses, probably lavender or even pink, but Olivier had always been surprised about the respect and the understanding the blond girl had for her sister's fierce personality which would clash with the soft colours. And just like Laila made sure that Victoria had her armour made of black and purple, she had given Olivier the advice to bind her hair into a smooth bun at the back of her head.

"Olivier," Bendix said as he appeared in the doorway. He looked as handsome as before with his golden hair and his green eyes which were currently veiled with worry. He wasn't happy about the nearing war but just like everyone else, he had accepted it as part of the price they had to pay for their country's happiness. "Ling called … he is attending the summit tonight as well. Lan Fan and Jun Li will be there as well, so you don't have to worry about a lack of support."

It had taken the combined persuasion of Lan Fan, Ling, Chao and Lei to talk Jun Li into reclaiming her position as general in the Xingese society. Jun Li had been expelled from the Society of the Ten Generals after she had 'defected' and ran off to Amestris but as emperor, Ling had made sure that she had been reinstated – just to be faced with her usual stubbornness and her attempt to get away from her responsibility … but as clan head of one of the most prestigious warrior clans, she had had no other choice but to obey the orders she had gotten from her emperor. She had cursed her brother-in-law but her family meant too much to her. She hadn't want to risk disownment even though that hadn't been likely seeing that her only sister was the emperor's wife but Jun Li had raised this high without help from any higher-ranking relatives and even though her husband was a prince, she had never taken any advantage of this fact. It had been part of the reason why she had broken up with him in her youth that she hadn't want any rumours about her sleeping her way into her position at the time.

"Do you honestly think that anyone of the leaders would want to mess with me or the country I am standing for?" Olivier asked as she pinned her decorations onto her uniform. She was still slightly bitter that Jade had more decorations but then again, the black-haired woman had been Bradley's little puppet for a time to protect her brother and her cousin and Olivier didn't envy her for the pain she had suffered during this time of her life. Even today, eight years after the nightmare had been over, she flinched whenever someone mentioned the wrathful homunculus.

"Nope, I don't think so," Bendix smirked. "Anyway, Laura and Lars are asking if their mother is going to beat up mean people and I told them that you are creating the plan and let other people do the beating up. I think that you just became a hero in their eyes."

"This war … it will be hell for everyone involved … and I pity Vic's boyfriend," Olivier said as she closed her eyes and looked outside where the autumn sun painted yellow spots onto the floor. "I can still see Alex' face in front of me when I close my eyes … the war will ruin so many young people, people with dreams and hopes … so many things will be crushed by this war…"

"But in times of despair, new dreams will be created and usually, people are getting more creative."

"I hope that this will happen this time as well … because the last thing Amestris needs right now would be Victoria losing her cool – and she will throw a fit when something happens to her boyfriend."

"You know her just too well," Bendix said as he took his own uniform jacket and followed her as she left the room and walked down the stairs, passing their children's bedrooms where Lars and Laura played peacefully. Usually, Olivier would have checked what they were doing but not this time because it would probably weaken her resolve and she needed to make the others see her point.

"She is just like me at the age," Olivier said quietly as she looked up to the sky. "Brilliant yet unable to do something because she is just too young … and right now, she takes her hope from her love. And therefore I know that she will be destroyed if something happens to Owen. She is strong yet weak."

"So, you believe that even the girl who inherited the strongest defence after Briggs from her mother can break once she loses the man she loves?" Bendix asked while he thought of Lynn who had been many things but never one to let down her guard easily. She had been nicknamed the Shield Alchemist by many soldiers of the western area because despite her strong offence, she had had the best defence after her younger sister and only a few people had managed to get behind her wall.

"Just like I said: she can guard her mind and her body … but she will never be able to guard her heart … I believe that I start to understand Lynn now … she said that she named her daughter well … and while Kay had a strong offence, she never managed to cut all the ties between her mind and her heart. And I … despite seeming hard and unforgiving, **I** **love** and just like Kay and Lynn, I would have sacrificed myself to protect the ones I love. It is the flaw we share and that makes us human."

* * *

Jun Li looked tired and older than the world as she returned from the meeting. She threw her kunai and her katana into the corner of the room and took the sake her daughter had left for her on the counter of the bar. "This is getting more complicated than I expected," she muttered. "Hell, I never wanted to raise this high because I never wanted to fall and now…? I have no clue where to start!"

"You should know by now that the person who brought down the huge mountains started to carry away pebbles," the gruff voice of Chen Bo, her cook, came from being her where he stood in the doorway with another bowl of sake. "But you are too much like your grandmother, Jun Li, too impatient and too easily frustrated when something doesn't go the way you want it to go."

She sighed deeply as she rested her forehead on her palm. "Chen Bo," she sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment. "You were just as hot-headed as I still am, right? So, what would you do in my place?"

"I never made it general, I am sorry," he said with a soft smile. "But I believe that I would drink a cup of tea because tea washes away all the sorrow we face in our lives. Jun Li, you are strong and stubborn like no other woman I've ever met. Whenever you had your mind set on something, you did everything to get it but this time, things are different and even you with the strength to force down a mountain need an ocean of wisdom and inner peace."

"You didn't ask me why I feel like I am breaking apart this time," she muttered as she looked at him.

"Because I anticipated this to happen since the day I heard that another war was coming and Xing became the comrade of Amestris and the other countries around this country. You were asked to command the third division of the Xingese army but at the same time, someone else asked you to be in charge of the alkahestry users … and now you don't know what to do."

"Yeah," she muttered. "It's exactly like that … I don't know how I am supposed to decide this time…"

"The third division was traditionally led by the Wei-family and seeing that you are the head of this clan, I see where the idea is coming from but…" he shook his head. "I don't think that you would be happy with this decision. I know that your father wanted you to lead this team one day but…"

She stayed silent but her eyes were focused on him as she listened.

"And like many things is good tea just not as sweet when it is given with ill intend while bad tea tastes good when it comes from a friend," Chen continued. "I don't mean any harm but I can hardly imagine that the council of the Wei-clan is happy with you as clan head … and therefore, they want to get rid of you. To pressure you to take a position that doesn't harmonise with your being is nothing but the nicer version of sending you straight into a battle without any weapons." He shook his head. "They try to flatter you in order to make you take the position as leader of the third division but they want to kill you. So it is a sweet tea given with ill intend."

"So, you tell me that it would be wiser to take the other position?" Jun Li asked as she looked up.

"Wise … this isn't a matter of wisdom, little Jun Li. This is a matter of politics and while it would be surely better for your health to take the position as leader of the alkahestry users, it would improve your standing in your clan to take the other job," he said. "It isn't always black or white, little one, and sometimes, you have to dance with the shadows to achieve the peace you want for your family."

She growled as she downed the rest of her sake before she poured more into her bowl. "But I want it to happen now!" she said stubbornly as always. "I need to heal the wounds the past left in my family!"

"That you of all people say something like this…" he shook his head as he smiled. "See, Jun Li, you were always a fool but a wise one. You kept your own family under your control while you freed other people because even as a child, you knew were the real danger was coming from: it was your own family. I should have followed your example and maybe, there would be more members of my clan left. My father was right when he said that it is easier to reign over a country than over a family."

"I heard what happened…" she said as she shuddered. It was rare that whole clans, especially whole warrior clans, in Xing disappeared but the Bo-clan had nearly vanished and Chen was one of the last ones left. The only reason why Jun Li knew about the event was that she had overheard other guards back in the palace talking with each other. The massacre had hit the Bo-clan unprepared and nearly everyone had died. Chen had been able to survive because he had been underestimated due to his age and he had managed to save his grandson who had left to take revenge for his slaughtered kinsmen and according to his grandfather, his skill was on par with his anger about his family's death.

Jun Li had been downright terrorised when she had heard what had happened because the Bo-clan was the only clan who could compete with the Wei-clan in their hometown and for a few months, she had feared that her own clan would share the tragic fate. But weeks had passed without an attack on her family at home and soon afterwards, she had left Xing and three months later, Chen had appeared, asking for a job as cook and while she had been eternally grateful that her grandfather's best friend hadn't been murdered as well, she wondered if it would have been better for him to die along with his relatives because he had to suffer terribly under the incident.

"I don't think that harder training could have prevented the massacre," Jun Li said carefully and once more, she was happy that she was a very skilled liar because in reality she thought that the massacre would have been less bloody and terrible if the Bo-clan hadn't softened since the last war in Xing. But there was no way in hell that she would insult the former clan head's feelings by telling him this.

"It is nice that you try to make me feel better, Jun Li, but I know that we were weak when we were killed," the old man said as he stroked his beard. "Our training lacked and while I agree with my grandson that we were most likely betrayed by a member of our own clan, the main reason why nearly everyone was slaughtered was that we didn't react fast enough. Sure, we were never a match for fighter who specialised in long range because our techniques require a small distance but this isn't an excuse for all the great heroes of the war who died like the flies."

"And your grandson? He was just three years old … how could he survive when everyone else died?"

"He was smart," Chen replied. "He hid well and this saved his life. I couldn't take him with me to Amestris and so he stayed in Xing where he is currently planning his revenge."

"Didn't you try to stop him? It has to hurt that one of the few kinsmen of yours who survived the Crimson Night of Yuèyá Quán wants revenge for what has happened to his family…"

"His older sister was killed right in front of him … of course he wants revenge," the man said with barely hidden bitterness in his voice. "Still, I told him that I would have to prepare two graves when he would go through with his revenge … and he didn't care."

"He is a fool like everyone is a fool at the age of … sixteen," Jun Li said softly.

"I just don't want to lose my grandson," the old man said quietly.

"You won't lose him when we find him in time among the soldiers."

Chen looked at his best friend's rebellious granddaughter and once more he wondered why Fu had never understood why this woman had never been the right one for a golden cage. Jun Li was like a bird and she needed to decide where she went without the input of anyone else. Chen knew just too well that his best friend had never understood that his granddaughter wasn't her father and therefore not a puppet that would do whatever its master would order. He watched how she got up and smiled at her. "Did you make a decision?" he asked as she turned to leave.

"Yeah," she smiled. "I am going to command the alkahestry users. The elders will have to hand their peace contract written in poisonous ink to someone else. I am going to be my own person."

* * *

"…I just hope that Jun Li makes the right decision," Lan Fan yawned as she sat down on the couch and removed the gold and the gems from her hair and her neck because they were just too heavy. "Those Wei-elders can be real bastards and Jun Li … her position in the clan could be better than it is."

Her husband nodded as he sat down next to her and massaged her head. He knew that she had a terrible headache from the meeting because one of the Fei-elders had seriously tried to doubt her expertise when it came to weapons and she was pretty much annoyed. "Jun Li is one of the smartest women I know and this was the reason why I called her back to the Ten Generals," Ling said before he shrugged. "Anyway, can you remember what happened to the Bo-clan? I missed their representative during the last few meetings…"

The bodyguard next to the door flinched and after Lan Fan frowned slightly in his direction, he started to speak. "The Bo-clan was nearly fully annihilated, Your Highnesses," he said. "I am one of the few survivors. After the attack, my family lost the clan-status and disbanded. My grandfather left to fulfil a promise he gave a dying woman and I stayed to take revenge for my slaughtered kinsmen one day."

"How was it possible to slaughter the whole clan?" Lan Fan asked in shock. She had known the Bo-clan since he grandfather had been friends with the clan head of the other clan and therefore she was aware of the incredible skills this family had possessed. To imagine that all of them had been killed was nearly impossible for her.

"My grandfather said that the reason was that he didn't listen to Lady Wei," the guard said softly as his hand covered the right part of his mask. "No one blames the Wei-clan but I still wonder what he meant by this because it was the only thing he ever said."

"Lady Wei … my older sister…" Lan Fan exhaled slowly as she remembered the Jun Li who had left Xing when she had been twenty-two … depressed, empty and utterly annoyed by everything in life but also the harshest task mistress their clan had ever seen with her constant orders to train harder than any other clan. But Lan Fan who had been put through the same torture had to admit that it had left the members of her own clan very skilled and always careful. And she was also very sure that none of her own kinsmen would have failed to cut off his own arm in order to protect Ling. She was also very sure that Jun Li would have been able to cut off both arms and to return in four months.

"The harshest lady of Yuèyá Quán, the first female Dragon Warrior and therefore one of the strongest female warriors Xing has ever seen, tenderly nicknamed the Iron Lady: Jun Li from the Wei-clan," Ling said with a hint of admiration in his voice as he mentioned his sister-in-law. He could still remember the first time he had met her and part of the reason why he had trained so hard had been the dream of being able to defeat her one day.

* * *

_It was a nice day in spring and the whole town was a single chaos because the former and now retired emperor, Jun Yao who was also called the Golden Dragon, had returned to Yuèyá Quán where he had been born. Prince Ling, grandson of the aforementioned emperor, was on his way to his daily training when he spotted two adults on the training ground of the Wei-family where he usually trained because his trainer was a Wei. Despite the distance, he recognised Chao Wei, a master with any weapon he was given and a worthy heir for the title as clan head. The second fighter, however, was merely a blur of black and red – definitively a member of the Imperial Bodyguards who were nicknamed Dragon Warriors. As her movements stilled for a moment, he could see the golden dragon on her back and the crimson stripes on her uniform. She was certainly another master warrior from the Wei-family even though her style seemed harder and faster than everything he usually saw._

_"This is Jun Li from the Wei-clan," an old man said behind the prince. "She just recovered from a terrible injury and right now, she is working hard to regain her old strength in order to protect her master."_

_"And she trains with Chao?" Ling asked in disbelief._

_"Even he respects her abilities and knows that she is a great fighter once she truly wants to win," the old man said calmly. "Jun Li is a warrior of the Golden Dragon and she knows what the people expect from her … so don't underestimate her. She is far stronger than she looks."_

_"But this is Chao – the strongest from his clan! The one I need to beat when I want to be the strongest fighter of this town one day!" Ling exclaimed as he stared at the woman who landed quite some punches on his idol while she gracefully dodged everything he threw at her._

_"Chao will never be the strongest fighter this town created," the old man said as he patted the prince's shoulder. "Jun Li … she is different from him. She is a warrior to the core and she would rather die than to allow anything to stain our country's honour. She is truly a … formidable woman."_

_"But how can she be stronger than Chao when everyone says that no man can beat him?"_

_"Jun Li … she paid a great price for her abilities and her current position," the old man said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. "In order to gain her place at the court, she cut her ties with her family … and while she claims that she doesn't regret this step, I know her well enough to see the pain in her eyes. She hates being here … because she lost so many things while she was here the last time."_

_For a moment, the woman's movements stilled as she threw away her sweaty jacket. Her form was clearly visible with the rough bindings around her chest but Ling somehow wondered why Chao, his idol, looked this pained at the sight of this woman. When he heard how the old man sucked in a breath, he turned around to see that it was no one other than his grandfather but his attempt to bow was quickly intercepted by the old man who looked down at his most trusted bodyguard and allowed himself to show his grief for a moment. "Oh, Jun Li…" he sighed as he shook his head. "You keep paying the price to atone a sin you never committed. You are just as wise as foolish."_

_"What are you talking about, Your Highness?" Ling asked respectfully._

_"Jun Li … she … her injury wasn't truly an injury and to see her like this, I begin to see the truth my own village tried to hide from me before but … I fear that it is too late to save her this time around. Her foolish pride completely destroyed her in the end…" the emperor shook his head. "To your information: Jun Li gave birth to a child … to a grandchild of mine."_

_"How can you be this sure, Your Highness?" the young prince asked as he stared at the woman down there on the training ground while she pulled another katana from the sheath on her side._

_"Because I am not as senile as you and the others might think," the old man replied as he closed his eyes. "Oh, a part of me wants to strangle her for putting herself through all of this but I am not sure if that would be the right thing to do," he added. "Jun Li is by far the most stubborn and most interesting woman I have ever met and I know that punishment was never the right way to deal with her."_

* * *

"You are honestly joining the alkahestry team, Mei?" Edward asked as he looked at his sister-in-law.

"I have a duty to my country," the princess said calmly as she rubbed her temples. "And I know who is going to command the unit. I can work with her because I worked with her before. The Iron Lady is a truly amazing woman and I truly wonder why everything has changed this much."

"You are talking about Agent Wei, don't you?" Winry asked as she looked up from a battle automail she was creating for Phil who would need it sooner than anyone had expected. "What about her?"

"As you know, she worked for my grandfather," the black-haired girl said carefully. "I hardly knew her when she was still in Xing because she was far older than I and when the Golden Dragon disappeared, I was a mere child … just not important enough to be noticed by her. I have to admit: I used to hate her because she was a guard and yet she had the emperor's full attention whenever she suggested something while I was a princess and my word was left unheard whenever I tried to speak to the crowd. I hated her because whatever she did, she did with the grace of a queen that was absolutely unbecoming for a mere guardian … and yet I wasn't surprised when I found out that she was the granddaughter of Princess Lan Li Ming and that she had born a daughter of noble blood from both sides. She was good at hiding it, I have to admit this, but one day, I sneaked into the guardian's hot spring and when she left the water, it was obvious to me that she had born a child … even though it was likely that this child had been taken from her to keep the family's name clean."

"How do you know this much about the ways of a warrior clan?" Alphonse asked softly.

"It's because in the end, every family in Xing has the same values and would do everything to keep this values intact," his wife replied carefully. "And especially the warrior clans are very keen on keeping their honour intact because they would be ruined if they wouldn't do this."

"I am sure that Jun Li knew what she was doing," Edward shrugged.

"She risked more than her own life," Mei said darkly. "She was happy that Chao took the blame in her place because it would have been the end of her career as Imperial Guard. She would have been forced to leave the capital … and maybe she would have been murdered as well."

* * *

The doors closed behind Jane Stevens and for a moment, she turned around to gaze at the hospital she had just left – hopefully for good – before her attention returned to the man who waited for her at the car. Paul Timms was her only real friend and therefore, he had been the only one to understand why she felt indebted to the chancellor and his family. Stevens smiled a slightly bitter smile as she spotted her old teammate and without truly thinking about it, she allowed him to hug her tightly for once.

Timms smiled into her newly darkened hair as he held her for a moment. His precious flower was maybe harsh and sometimes rude with her words but he had known her far too long to be impressed by her words. He knew that she didn't care at all about his car or the money he had which was great because he never had much to spend but he knew that even if he would be richer than the Armstrong-family, it wouldn't matter at all to her which was part of the reason why he liked her this much. But the main reason was that she liked him for himself and not because he looked nearly as handsome as Jean Havoc and because he was more charming than Roy Mustang. She saw him as a normal person, just like she saw everyone else as well. She saw his faults, indecisions and insecure moments but she also saw the way he tried to be a better person.

She didn't care that he hang out with the great guys like Kain Fuery or even that Xingese Weapon Wonder – Timms was nearly sure that his name was Chao but he wasn't sure because the scary black-haired woman who had introduced the newcomer to the team had mentioned the name just once and he didn't want to ask. It always amazed him how sharp his teammate's eyes were and how she looked straight through every mask he tried to put onto his face to protect himself. So she didn't care that he wasn't a great singer or that there were more handsome man than him. She liked him because he was the way he was – just like he liked her for being herself. He knew that she had never been as beautiful as Jade Mustang and with the scars, she would never be able to compete against the black-haired lady but he thought that her scars added to her character and therefore, he liked them.

He still didn't get why she had asked Miss Hawkeye, the head of security, to allow him to stay her partner because he knew just too well that she had so many great talents and he could hardly believe that someone like her actually wanted to be around him. Maybe there was something he had never noticed before because it was invisible.

"Hey, Timms," she smirked as she winked at him. "Thanks for being with me in this one as well. I really appreciate this, partner. I need too much time to get used to a new partner."

He suppressed the urge to snort. He knew better than anyone else that Jane Stevens got along with most of the other agents because she wasn't the kind of woman who wanted trouble with her fellow agents. The idea that she would need more than a few minutes to get used to a new partner was strange but this was her way to tell her partner that she could never be as successful without him and that he wasn't only respected but also appreciated for the things he did for her.

"Don't worry," he said. "You won't get rid of me that fast."

"That's good to hear," she smirked as they reached the car.


	13. 177: The League of the Alchemists

**The League of the Alchemists**

* * *

"Stevens and Timms, what about them?" the old lady asked her former student as she turned away. "I trained them personally yet aren't they the right ones for such a battle…"

"You trained strategists in first place and while I am a battle expert as well, these both are meant to work behind the scenes … which is why they work for the secret service and not for the military any longer. I heard rumours that Stevens thought about retiring from the AFL as well but I still haven't got the message that she really went through with it. Nerissa claims that Stevens will stay where she is."

"That's probably the best thing for her," the lady said as she crossed her arms. "You mentioned Nerissa … how does our favourite lunatic act? I heard somewhere that she hates war even more than I do."

"Yeah, Serena mentioned that she is worried that her sister might suffer a relapse when it really starts," Olivier sat down on her desk and smiled bitterly. "The last thing we can currently afford is Nerissa losing her mind. Hell, this woman could have won the war for us if it wasn't for her inability to kill and the fact that permanent alchemy use tires our alchemists out far too soon."

"Nerissa on a battlefield is a scary idea," her mother-in-law said darkly. "She is far too skilled."

"Sometimes, a sacrifice is necessary. You were the one who told me this, Charlotte."

"I wasn't talking about the risk that we could lose her," the old woman replied. "Nerissa hasn't even shown us half of her abilities … and we don't need another Kimblee, do we?"

"Not even half of her abilities?" Olivier asked as she looked at the other blonde.

"Exactly," the Tigress of the West said with a faint smirk. "Nerissa permanently holds back her power because she wants to avoid another catastrophe. What happened back then when she nearly killed her own sister … it changed her and took away more of her sanity when she realised what she had done. Still, she studied under Catherina D'Artagan who is an alchemy master of the same level as my late son-in-law, Lady Mustang, Lord Tempest or even your own father and they are just surpassed by Peter Hamilton who mastered the four kinds of element alchemy a long time ago." She sat down and raised one eyebrow. "And therefore it is just ridiculous to believe that anyone else but a true master could beat Nerissa. The guy in Barley should have been defeated in mere seconds."

"Why would anyone try to hide such a huge amount of power?" Olivier asked.

"The answer is that most teachers leave a mark on their pupils," the former first lady stated. "And for all her mistakes, Catherina has never been anything but the wisest woman I have ever met. It would be nothing too surprising to learn that she chose to limit her stepdaughter's strength. I am sure that good old Catherina was able to look straight through every mask and every façade Nerissa wears."

"Where are Catherina and Peter anyway? I went to visit Nerissa last night after the meeting with Jun Li to make sure that our favourite maniac stays out of the fight and she mentioned that everything was that silent because her parents were away and that they left her in charge of everything, including her little brother…" Olivier frowned slightly. "I hope that they aren't going to involve themselves into this war because none of them should suffer all over again…"

"I called your mother late last evening and she mentioned that your father went on a business trip as well and therefore that it is likely that one of the grandmasters of the league called in a meeting."

Olivier sighed deeply as she rested her chin on her palm. She had never wanted to have anything to do with the organisation her father was part of and since she was no alchemists, she would never be part of it but she loathed the idea that those people would mess around with the strategy for the war. The League of the Alchemy Masters consisted of scientists and while many of them were geniuses, they tended to have their heads in the clouds and to rely on them was the last thing the blonde would ever do because it would mean to endanger their plans.

"I know that you don't like them but remember how many important members of our society are or were part of this organisation," Charlotte said as she crossed her arms. Since she wasn't an alchemist herself, she was no part of the organisation but she knew that her late son-in-law had been a grandmaster – just like Catherina, Peter or Philip. As far as the blond lady was concerned, Abel, Alain and Abigail had never been interested in having such an important position because they were far too busy with their daily work.

"I know," Olivier said with a faint hint of bitterness in her often emotionless voice. "And I see the sense in this … club but sometimes, I really wonder why they never called alchemists like Jade or Phil into the league since everyone knows that they are currently the best fighters we have … and from what I heard about the progress about their research, they are really great alchemists who would be good additions to any organisation I can imagine." She crossed her arms and sighed. "It is Jade's dream and the idea that someone might be able to make it come true and just doesn't do it makes me sick."

"Many things make you sick since you are one of the most stubborn women I've ever met," her mother-in-law said smoothly and threw her the typical knowing smile.

Olivier huffed. "You seem to know more than you let on, Charlotte," she accused.

"I can afford to hide things, can't I?" the other woman said as she leaned back in her chair.

"Yeah," the younger blonde admitted as she looked at one of the pictures on the wall she was always staring at when she was lost in her thoughts. "Great Heroine of the First Western Campaign and everything … you always were the kind of woman who wasn't meant to fail."

"Don't make me laugh, honey," Charlotte chuckled as she mentioned into the direction of the photo that had made her famous. It showed her how she had climbed onto the tower of Lionnenburg to rip off the Cretan flag in order to replace it with the Amestrian. "Sure, I did climb onto this damned tower but this photo was taken later since no one had the nerve to take a picture in the middle of a fight … and I am happy for this because I looked terrible. The left braid was cut of and I lost my hair bands somewhere on the battlefield. My uniform was purple instead of blue because of all the blood and all in all, I looked like I had just crossed hell. It would have been the end of my reputation as a clean and silent fighter … and that would have meant disgrace for my whole family."

"I've known you for so many years and yet, you never fail to surprise me, Charlotte," Olivier said as she smiled kindly at her former mentor. "And you never fail to distract me when I think too much about things I can't do anything about. Thank you very much."

"Don't mention it, little one," Charlotte said with a warm smile.

* * *

The room was dark as usually and the red-haired woman who had just sat down stared down at the smooth surface of the table. The atmosphere was strangely suffocating and the empty chairs didn't make it better. Why did the Glorious Six leave the League of the Alchemy Masters? In two cases, it was understandable that the chairs stayed empty since many years. Master Hawkeye had died after a long illness and Master Able Mustang had been killed in a car accident along with his wife. Still, this didn't explain the absence of so many others. Where was the Duchess, Catherina D'Artagan, who had been called the Blue Flash among her fellow alchemy masters? Where was Mistress Mustang, the younger twin sister of the aforementioned Master Mustang, who had left the league after her brother's death? Where was Master Tempest who had left alongside his wife? Where was the Lord, where was Peter Hamilton who had always been a grandmaster of the league for his family had led the league for more than a century. The red-haired woman winced slightly as she thought of the master of elements who also happened to be her older brother. Unlike everyone else, she had stopped to believe that he would return one day because that would mean that he was inconsequent and that was something he couldn't be accused of. That was one of the reasons why so many people still looked up to him.

"I really wonder why we have been called," her neighbour, Master Armstrong from Amestris, muttered as he looked to the woman who had called them together once more. It was rare that one of the grandmasters of their league had the nerve to call them all together because since they were all very skilled and influential, most of them held high posts in their respective countries' societies.

"The grandmasters usually know what they are doing, Armstrong," she replied as she crossed her arms in the same way her niece often did the same thing. "Do we even know who called us this time?"

"The Alkahestry Lady," he said and nodded into the direction of an old woman with grey hair and pale blue eyes who wore a black kimono.

"So this might be about the question who will be part of this exclusive club soon…" she sighed as she looked down at her hands with the purple arrays. "Maybe we should have tried harder to keep the remaining Glorious Six in our fancy little organisation…"

"Traditionally, we would need a new grandmaster for Amestris since I retired from this position some weeks ago," he said while he patted her shoulder. "Do not worry, lovely Elaine. To solve problems is a technique passed down in the Armstrong-family for generations!"

She chuckled softly under her breath before she turned her gaze at the old lady who was currently staring down a young Drachman alchemist who was snoring softly. "Lady Ming is being on her usual aggressive self again," she stated as she crossed her arms. "We should be happy that we have her to keep the younger members in line. I would hate to participate in these meetings if it was chaos."

"Welcome," the Xingese woman said as she stood up and glared hard enough at the young alchemist. "I would like to ask the other masters if they agree with me when I say that we need to refill our organisation. Master Hawkeye and Master Mustang will be dearly missed but we will have to find replacements for them after so many years. And I would like to have some more alkahestry users in this council. I have currently fours users I would call extremely skilled and old enough."

Elaine Hamilton snorted as she looked at the woman. "Well, I would like to call my niece into this organisation," she said as her dark green eyes narrowed. "The Cretan Party is far too small for my liking and she would be a valuable asset to this council since her mind is just as twisted as mine."

"Nerissa or Serena?" Lady Ming asked as she frowned slightly at her fellow mistress who sat still in the same chair as before her accident that had left her scarred and stronger than before because she had nothing left to lose in a fight. According to the Xingese woman, it would improve the performance of every fighter to have a completely scarred body because it would prevent them from worrying about their skin all the time which had annoyed Lady Ming since she had been a little girl.

"I said twisted mind so I obviously meant Nerissa," Elaine smirked as she leaned back and raised an eyebrow as some frowned at her. "Where is your problem? She is skilled enough."

"The problem, most honoured mistress Hamilton, is that your niece is ninety percent insane and ten percent evil enough to kill all of us when something doesn't go the way she wants," another Cretan alchemist told her and dodged the diamond like knife she threw at him without hesitating.

"Genius cannot exist without a slight hint of insanity," the calm and collected voice of the Cretan grandmaster said as the duchess entered the meeting room. "And if you have a problem with my old pupil, well, maybe you should take it out with me."

"D'Artagan," Lady Ming stated casually as she crossed her arms and narrowed her pale blue eyes. "It has been ten years since I saw you and you look young as always."

The red-haired lady smirked as she sat down on her usual chair. "It has been ten years since a grandmaster chose to call in a meeting," she remarked. "And I was very busy – something most of you guys should understand, right? Anyway, since we are suggesting new members, I would like to suggest the Mustang-trio since they are very capable alchemists."

Lady Ming froze for a second as she remembered the pain everyone had seen in Mistress Abigail's eyes after Master Abel had died and to imagine that they would maybe face a similar situation, frightened her greatly because in spite of her hard and often harsh behaviour, she felt with those who lost people close to them – and the loss Mistress Mustang had suffered could have killed less strong women. But even the grandmaster of Xing couldn't deny that the abilities of the three Mustangs were more than sufficient to call them into the league.

"I would like to call the chancellor's three oldest children in – but they need to pass the test first," a black-haired woman with a flamel on her collarbone stated after crossing her arms. Elaine could still remember the day this woman had taken her test – and how she had ruined half of the area.

"Agreed," Catherina said with a smirk as she nodded. "Oh, and I would like to add Owen Johnson to the list of alchemists who will be watched closely … well, at least for the next few months. Should this war allow him to stay sane and focused, he also might be a good addition one day."

"You want to call not only my children but also my pupil into the league?"

It was nearly a miracle to see Abigail Mustang there. Her black hair with the first grey lines fell down to her waist because it wasn't tied to a low ponytail for once. She wore a black dress with a red scarf and all in all, she looked like the time had stopped for her since her brother's death. Behind her was her husband who looked distinguished and handsome as always while he had one hand on his wife's shoulder and the other in the pocket of his black jacket.

"Alain and Abigail, oh, and Peter," Philip said surprised as he looked at his old friends. "It has been far too long since you lightened up these dark rooms."

"And what about me, Philip?" Catherina asked with her usual smirk that hadn't changed since her youth and even the years of misery hadn't shattered it.

"You were never truly gone, Cathy," Elaine said smoothly. "Out of the Glorious Six, you were the one who stayed in a way because you never left our mind. You stayed our … inspiration even though you had left just like everyone else. You always were like this, sister-in-law."

Elaine Hamilton was known as the Diamond Fist and while she had led the Cretan Secret Service before and after her accident and the following recovery, she had always looked up to Catherina D'Artagan because the older woman had been the wisest person she had ever met. Before she had learned what had really happened to her Cretan Secret Service, Elaine had hoped that Catherina would have taken over for her because despite being far more powerful and slightly violent, the older woman shared the same pacifistic beliefs as the former and current leader of the CSS.

"Good to hear that I was missed as well," Catherina said amused as she crossed her arms. "Well, Izumi, I believe you intended to suggest another member for the league…"

"I always forget that you trained him as well, Catherina," the black-haired woman with the flamel on her collarbone. "Yeah, you are right. I want to suggest Edward Elric as part of the league – along with this younger brother and his sister-in-law. And while I am at it, I also want to suggest Jun Li Wei, her cousin, her husband and her current pupil."

"Never!" Lady Ming hissed as she shook her head. "As long as I live, Jun Li won't be part of the league. I acknowledge her abilities and I admit that she is more than killed enough to join but I say no!"

"Are you still mad at the Wei-clan just because their old leader married your half-sister, Lady Ming?" Catherina asked sharply while she directed her glare straight at the older woman. "I can remember that it isn't the first time that you try to ruin your great-grandniece's changes of joining the league."

"The decision who is allowed to join can never be based on the opinion on one single grandmaster of this league," the Drachman grandmaster, a tall woman with long brown hair, said darkly. She was a skilled alchemist who had taken the seat as grandmaster from her master after the man had retired. She usually claimed that her master had retired far before his time and that he was still able to beat her even after reaching his eightieth birthday some weeks ago.

"Alexandra is right," the Aerugian grandmaster said as he looked at his equal. "No matter how much you hate the current clan head of the Wei-clan, she is a very capable alkahestry user and should have attained the position as master years ago. No one can deny that her skill is sufficient."

"And yet, no one can deny that I have good reasons to mistrust her," the lady replied softly.

"You said nothing against Chao Wei," Peter remarked quietly as he looked at the older woman.

"It's because Chao is not Cai's son. Cai … Jun Li's father, not her current student, was a great man and an even better bodyguard. He … was my student because he showed the potential of being a truly amazing alkahestry user one day. And yet, Cai didn't give his life to protect the emperor like everyone thinks." Lady Ming's shoulders trembled. "Cai, the only student I ever had … the son of my sister, the reason why I betrayed my clan by teaching a Yao … gave his life to protect his eldest daughter. A mere girl without any skill … a girl who had no worth to anyone … a girl with Yao-blood and Yao-pride."

Lady Ming had been a wife of emperor Jun Yao and her old bitterness over the death of her husband and since she had blamed it on the Yao-guard, she hated Jun Li with passion.

"He was her father and she was his oldest daughter," one of the other alkahestry users said slowly. "I think that in the end, his love for his daughter meant more to him than the duty towards his clan."

"Jun Li will be finally accepted into this league," Alain said calmly as he looked at the Xingese lady. "You will have to accept this decision, Lady Ming, because there is no way that we could take it back. The rules say that the most skilled alchemists and alkahestry users are invited to join – no matter what their social status in their countries or their age might be. Therefore I believe that we should go through with the tests as soon as the war starts because with the exception of Abigail and Alexandra, none of us has the duty to fight for their respective countries."

"Ah, I forgot about the war for a moment," the Drachman grandmaster, Alexandra, smiled as she crossed her arms. "But it's good to know that you will be there with me, Abigail. It's always good when you already know someone when you are in a foreign country … and I am used to the cold."

"The desert will be cold enough for you once my daughter uses her alchemy," the black-haired woman smiled. "Yes, while Phil is full of fire, Jade is still more like a blizzard than like a firestorm."

"You have to be very proud of yourself, Abigail. Three former students will be members and a fourth is already watched closely. It's your and Alain's success."

"But it was Abel who told me to teach instead of to fight."

* * *

The state alchemists and alkahestry users had a camp between the camps of the Amestrian and Xingese armies and while everywhere else, the war seemed to be _there_ they hadn't seen much action so far. Alex Armstrong sat on a box with his arms folded against his massive chest while he looked around for familiar faces – just to realise that neither Roy Mustang nor Kay Hamilton would fight alongside with him. (He didn't miss Kimblee though.) Abigail Mustang sat with the Xingese healers and played cards while her son paced around the fire with a strangely empty expression on his face while he stared into the flames. Jun Li sat on a rock and had her eyes closed while she meditated. She had been named the official leader of the alchemy/alkahestry unit because she knew both sides very good. Owen sat on the earth while he played chess against Mei who had volunteered for this job but the young man's face betrayed how worried he was for the wellbeing of his girlfriend who was far away in the capital and yet in danger somehow because to kidnap the chancellor's daughters along with the Xingese and Drachman princesses and princes would cause trouble.

Jade just returned to the camp from a meeting with Olivier, Miles and other generals of the Amestrian Army and her face betrayed her discontentment with the situation. She stopped in front of her brother and looked up at him in despair as her blood ran down her face, her neck and her chest. She had been obviously ambushed on her way back which wasn't a good sign.

"Brother…" she whispered. "Tell me, what the hell are we fighting for? This is pointless, isn't it? We need to end this war before the situation can get out of control…"

"This is defence, Jade," Phil replied tiredly as he patted her shoulder. "I know, I know: we should love each other and maybe it would be the best if everyone would pretend that this nightmare never started … but though we can try, we won't succeed."

They faced each other from different sides of the fire and the fire threw red shades of light onto their faces that illuminated the anger that burned in their equally dark eyes. It was funny how similar they looked despite their obvious differences. Jade was a woman, Phil was a man. Jade was scarred from all the fights she had fought before but she stood tall, Phil was unscarred from the outside but who really knew him knew about the fears he hid behind this perfect mask. Jade was offence, Phil was defence. Even though both were Air, Jade was Water and Phil was Fire.

They were different but they both couldn't remember why this war had to happen. None of them believed the story Monte Bandeo had told them and so it seemed crazy to them that they had to cause pain to other people. But their pride, their foolish pride suffered more than anything else under the circumstances. They hated the way they had no other choice but to watch how everything came falling down and while they didn't believe that they would lose the battle, they wondered which worth a won war had when it had been won at the price of the heart.

The siblings stepped onto a hill and for a moment, they looked up to the stars where everything was wide and eternal. It had always been like this: before a huge battle, Phil and Jade Mustang had taken a moment to look inside their own hearts. They had to do this because they couldn't allow themselves to forget that they still wanted that humanism would win in the end … and to remind themselves that they weren't as different from their younger selves as they seemed to be, clad in their field uniforms. There was so much more to both of them than the battle-hungry and fame-obsessed warriors everyone believed them to be … and at the beginning of the battle, they would be the same terrified children they had been so many years ago when they had been sent into their first real battle.

"It doesn't have to be like this, does it?" Jade asked quietly as she looked up at the stars.

Phil stayed silent for a moment. "No, Jade," he said. "You and I, we don't have to be like this … but the war will come no matter how we will decide."

"I hate it," she muttered under her breath and walked away.

"I know," he said as he thought of the consequences they would have to face as well before he turned around and followed her.

* * *

Abigail tilted her head back and closed her eyes instead of looking at the stars. "Brother, my brother," she whispered. "Tell me, what are we fighting for this time? To live should be the answer. To kill can't be the right thing, no. You used to say that life worth so much more than hatred. We should stop this madness and love one another…" She punched the earth beneath her. "The thing is … that it is too late to stop anything, Abel. Roy made this choice for the good of the country. Our old believes didn't make it through the years of war I have seen. I apologise for disappointing you but a mother does whatever she has to do to ensure that her children are fine." She never waited for an answer because she knew that her brother was in no position to say something. "Oh, and did you know that Roy was called into the League of the Alchemy Masters? He is your son after all…"

She had been proud like never before in her life when her nephew had been invited to join the club – as Jade would call it – along with her own children. Abigail herself had never truly doubted that her son would attain the title of a master sooner or later in his life and even though she had been far younger, she nearly burst with pride whenever someone mentioned her son's success in her presence. Along with her twin and her husband, Abigail had been called into the league very early in her life because the league had needed fresh blood and the trio had been suggested by Peter Hamilton who was some strange kind of childhood friend of Alain's and who had been called into the league even earlier because his ancestors had founded it a long time ago. A year later, Philip Armstrong and Catherina D'Artagan had followed them – both recommended by Peter.

Abigail's husband who had trained Jade in her youth had always spoken of his daughter as a great mistress of alchemy and that she would follow her father's path one day while Berthold had laughed and patted his friend's shoulder while reminding him that every child had its own will and that it would be wrong to pressure Jade into the direction of joining the league one day. Berthold had hoped that his chair would be taken by his niece Kay one day but she had died just a few years after him and now, it would be Kay's twin to take her uncle's chair. Abigail wanted to chuckle at the irony of everything because despite being disowned, Nerissa had still inherited all the important things.

"You look troubled, Abigail," Alexandra said as she sat down next to her and crossed her arms. "Let me guess, you think of your brother and what he would say if he knew what we are doing here."

"Yeah, I know that he wouldn't be happy about my decision … but as long as Roy isn't here too, he can still forgive me one day … at least … I hope that he can forgive me."

"Abel was one of the most wonderful men I've ever had the fortune to meet and yet, here I am and wonder why he decided to follow a path that was never meant to be his, Abigail. Why did he decide to join the league when he was always against chains and everything like this?" Alexandra asked.

"Abel and I … at this time, we functioned even more like a unit than my children do it today," Abigail said softly as she looked at her son who was busy cleaning his sister's wounds. "Like I always said: nothing is as great and yet as terrible as having a twin … and my decision at this time was Abel's as well because he couldn't let me go without him. I slightly worry about the people who are going to supervise Victoria's and Nick's test. If they are even a little bit like my own twins or me and Abel, they won't unleash their whole power unless one of them is in real danger."

"You know those children better than you let on, don't you?" Alexandra asked as she crossed her arms.

"These kids are my brother's grandchildren and since Abel and I used to think of ourselves as of two halves of the same being, I am bolt enough to say that they are my grandchildren in a way. And you should know that I know my own family like the back of my hand. I know the intentions of every single member of the family. I know what they are dreaming of and what makes them scared." The black-haired woman sighed deeply as she stared at the stars above her. "And so I know that at least Nick is far too scared of his own power than to let it out with a good reason. And the only thing that would justify it for him is to see his sister hurt. I've known all his aunts and his mother after all."

"You are a very wise woman, Abigail Mustang."

"No, I am not," she said. "If I had been a little bit smarter, Roy would have had his parents. If I had been a little bit smarter, Jade wouldn't suffer from her nightmares. If I had been a little bit smarter, Phil wouldn't have lost his hand. I am merely a woman who tried her best and believed that one day I would get a reward for everything I went through. I am nothing special, Alexandra. I am just a sister, a mother, an aunt and a wife who wanted the best for everyone and failed many times."

"Curtis is your sister, isn't she?" Alexandra asked as she looked at her friend.

"Yeah … so you figured it out," Abigail nodded. "My youngest sister … and just another person I failed to protect and to support when she needed me the most. Like I said, I failed more than people believe."

"In the end, it always worked out, didn't it?" the Drachman grandmaster asked. "And while we started to admit our worst mistakes, I have to admit that I can understand Lady Ming's hatred towards Jun Li. A long time ago, I had a student as well … he died to protect his friend who is now a member of the league. When this friend was first suggested, a part of me wanted to make it impossible for him to join us but when I thought properly about it, I decided that my student saw something in his friend and therefore died for him. To deny his friend the position would mean to disrespect the sacrifice."

Abigail smiled softly as she patted her friend's shoulder. "Maybe we should call you the wisest among us," she suggested friendly before she rolled her eyes and looked at her son who was currently poking his sister's side while she was trying to sleep. "Excuse me, I need to scold my son."

"A mother's work never ends, huh?"

"Exactly."

* * *

Nick watched the serious expression on his twin's face as the red-haired girl wrapped bandages around her arms because it was likely that they would be engaged into hand-to-hand combat very soon and it was a known fact that Victoria's skin bruised easily and to bandage her forearms was the only way to prevent that her arms would sport beautiful purple bruises at the end of the day. Nick knew that Laila had been slightly disappointed when Victoria had claimed her brother as her partner for the test but then again, the blonde would be Cai's partner and Nick knew that the only reason why Laila had originally wanted him as her partner was that he wouldn't be able to distract her.

"Are you ready?" one of the minor masters of the organisation asked as he entered the tent where the twins were getting ready for their first attempt to become a member of the group. Victoria had been slightly annoyed to learn that Edward, Nerissa, Roy, Jade, Phil and the Xingese trio had been accepted without such an annoying test but up to now, the twins had been very successful in their test. Seeing that they were able to understand each other on the same level Abel and Abigail and Jade and Phil could understand together, they had a natural advantage even when they had to decipher something which was solved by Victoria who had studied under Jade for a short amount of time.

"We are ready," Victoria said as she straightened her black jacket and forced a smile onto her face. This was a test like every other test and while it would be awesome to make it in the first try, she knew that many other great alchemists had needed a second or third one to pass. For the first time in her life, the only thing that pressured her to do her best was her own pride and the wish to make everyone proud by passing alongside with her brother in the first attempt. (She somehow didn't doubt that Nick would pass without a problem because she believed more in his abilities than she did in her own.)

"Yeah," Nick said as he wrapped one arm around her waist.

"You know the rules, Team Black?" the master asked as he looked at the twins. "This isn't a fight to death and whoever is rendered unable to continue the way is disqualified along with his partner."

Behind his calm expression, Nick smirked as his luck to have a healer as his partner before he suddenly remembered that Cai was here for his skills in alkahestry while Alphonse was partnered with Mei and therefore also blessed with someone who could heal his injuries – but they would take the test after the war. "We know the rules and we accept them," he said softly before he headed with his sister for the entrance.

"You are very confident into your own skill," the man said. "You have no idea who you will be up against and you should know that our masters and mistresses are very strong."

"As long as we are together, I can't imagine anyone who can break us down," Nick said with a smile as he nodded as his sister who looked serious and competent as always.

* * *

"…Izumi," Catherina didn't even bother to turn around as she heard footsteps behind her. "You really came to watch the test of your nephew's children?"

"Hard to believe, but yes, I came for this," the housewife replied. "They will pass. I know it. They are grandchildren of grandmasters, every single one out of them. Lady Ming to hide it pretty good but she was proud to see one of her own grandchildren in the group today."

"Abigail was worried that the black team might cause just as much destruction as you did…"

"Likely," the younger woman chuckled as she rested her hands on the railing. "Nick … he reminds me too much of his grandfather and his grandfather's brother-in-law."

"Element alchemy is a typical choice for members of the Hawkeye-clan," Catherina agreed. "Even Lynn who made herself a name with her healing alchemy was trained to be a water alchemist…"

"And that's what I mean," Izumi smirked. "Even though Victoria showed hardly any techniques which she could use in a fight before, she is still the only one who has the right to open the library of the Hawkeye-family where she would be able to find more battle-related techniques than I could design in my whole life … and the Mustang-clan specialises in fighting as well."

"You are being scary again," Catherina said. "What about Laila and Cai?"

"The Princess and her Prince have good chances as long as they don't run into Nick and Victoria."

"Laila and Cai are both far better fighters than Victoria and Nick cannot compensate for this."

"We used to think the same of Abel … that he was weak and a bad fighter. Once, Abigail got injured and Abel completely lost his nerve and beat the attacker into the next century," Izumi stated. "When Vicky is driven over the edge, there is no way in hell that anyone could predict what would happen."

"Victoria reminds me of my brother," Elaine said as she stepped into the room. "It is like she keeps the violent part of herself hidden under her own innocence to avoid snapping and killing everyone in sight who dares to oppose her will. Peter is extremely powerful, far more powerful than I could ever be … and yet, he is as dangerous as a newborn kitten as long as no one threatens his family…"


	14. 178: Phase I

**Phase I**

* * *

The area was in no good condition after Izumi had destroyed the biggest part of it many years ago but it was still a good place to test young and aspiring alchemists because nearly every element was there to be used – with the exception of fire which wouldn't be used by anyone else than Roy Mustang who wasn't even there at the moment. The war requested his presence in Central City and furthermore, he had no interest to have to take the responsibility for anything his children would destroy during their tests. He had been very proud that the three had been invited to take the test and just like everyone else, he had no doubt that Laila and Victoria would pass that his girls would drag their partners through the test as well. Just like everyone else, he wasn't sure if it was good to have Nick entering this test because while his only son was a great hand-to-hand combatant, he had never shown great skills in alchemy while his sisters had proven themselves as true geniuses.

But then again, every child of Lynn Hamilton was a dangerous one because since their temper wasn't different from their mother's, they probably hid a part of their true abilities and pretended to be weaker than they actually were to catch their opponent off guard.

Nick was careful since he absolutely hated the idea that anyone could have the nerve to attack his precious sister. The first few fights they won quickly because of Victoria's offensive technique which was based on healing alchemy even though it worked the other way around. Since most alchemists fought merely close range, a technique that left huge wounds despite Victoria merely scratched them was very useful and extremely effective.

Still, their current opponent was different from the others and while Nick still wondered why this guy seemed to have the intent to murder his sister, Victoria was three steps ahead and pointed out the obvious: "You are no part of the league! Everyone else merely wanted to injure us – you want to kill!"

"My, my, such a smart little girl," the man stated before he sent another volley of chains and knives at her and looked disappointed when he missed. "Too bad that I came here with the intention to kill you."

The next attack scratched Victoria's shoulder as she was too slow to avoid it again and she went down, holding her bloodied shoulder and wincing at the sudden pain that paralysed her complete system.

"I am going to skin you alive and to break every single bone in your pathetic body if you hurt my sister," Nick stated coldly as all the warmth disappeared from his usually soft eyes and it was obvious that he wasn't kidding this time around. "Step aside and let me get my sister. I can't allow your filthy hands to touch her."

"Nick Hamilton, the sweetest child of the Hawkeye-family in many years … and you really think that I would believe your empty threats?"

"If I was you, I would believe his words," Victoria coughed while she pressed her gloved hand onto the wound to heal it. She knew her brother better than most people and she knew that he would stay true to his word – even if it meant to use a technique he never wanted to use.

"I believe that I wasted far too much time with this conversation," Nick said while he helped his sister up and glared at their attacker. His voice reminded Victoria of the one Olivier used whenever Edward annoyed her and despite knowing that Nick would never hurt her, she shuddered.

"If it was your sister or your father, I would worry. But not if it is just you, a little boy who tries to play the heroic knight for his sister who isn't even worth the trouble."

Victoria's hands became fists at her sides and for a moment, she wanted to break his nose but she decided to leave this to Nick because she knew that he needed this more than her at the moment.

"You really should to what I tell you," Nick said as he raised his hands. "For your information and future reference – should you ever be dumb enough to mess with me: I am an heir of Master Berthold Hawkeye … and there is no way in hell that I would let you get away after the stunt you just tried. No one gets away with hurting those close to me. No one is allowed to hurt my sister … and whoever tries, has to pay the price … and the price is high."

* * *

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Elaine asked as she bit her lower lip and looked at her fellow masters.

"No," Catherina said as she shook her head. The only thing that betrayed the fact that she was nervous as well was the fact that her knuckles had turned white from the force she used on the railing.

"But technically, they have already lost!" her sister-in-law protested.

"They were ambushed by an alchemist who is no part of the league and therefore also no part of this test. Furthermore, the real fight didn't even start," Izumi stated. "So they are both still in … and it looks like Nick is going to fight seriously now."

"Didn't they fight seriously the whole time?" the duchesse frowned.

"No, Catherina, up to now, they were merely warming up."

"Are you serious, Izumi?" Elaine asked in shock.

"Yes," the black-haired woman said. "These kids are keeping their skills hidden … but now, Nick has a reason to justify everything."

"Victoria's injury?" Alain asked as he crossed his arms and wiped away sweat from his forehead. "Cai and Laila got past me and now, I am here to watch as well."

"Yeah," Izumi said calmly as she looked at the area. "Believe me … if they had fought seriously before, you would have noticed it because there is no freaking way in hell that anyone could miss that."

"What are you talking about?" Elaine inquired as she looked at her fellow alchemist.

"Nick is the son of Helena Hamilton," Alain said because he knew what sister-in-law was thinking. "And if this boy has more than his name from his mother, he has the tendency to show his power not until he has no other choice … but when he shows it, it will be a real … firework of alchemy."

"**Fire**work is exactly what I would call it," Lady Ming stated darkly as she mentioned towards the raging flames which surrounded the troublemaker. "Even this tiny display of power should be more than enough to allow this boy to take a seat in the league."

"I agree," Izumi stated slowly as she stared at the flames. "And it would explain why he waited up to the last moment to use this power."

* * *

Laila turned around as she heard the loud noise somewhere behind them and frowned. "What was that, Cai?" she asked as she looked back at her boyfriend.

"Nothing good," he replied as he felt the heat on his face. "Lai, this feels like someone uses Flame Alchemy!" he yelled as he grabbed her arm. "You never told me that your father is one of the opponents we need to defeat as well! How the hell are we going to defend ourselves against him?"

"Dad is in the capital," the blonde replied as she ran away as well. "So he cannot be here right now!"

"But if he isn't here – who the hell uses Flame Alchemy against an opponent? He is the only Flame Alchemist and he was supposed to be the last one!" the Xingese prince said as he dragged her down the way that led them away from the fire.

"There would be one person who could be a flame alchemist without surprising me," she said as she looked over her shoulder for a moment. "Nick hides his own brilliancy behind Victoria's but he is a genius – and he would be the kind of guy who would be smart enough to hide the fact that he has knowledge of such a dangerous and difficult technique. And he is a Hawkeye!"

"But there is no way in hell that your mother would allow him to become a flame alchemist!"

"Cai, my mother sees everything and knows even more but she never kept a close eye on Nick because she never saw him as a risk. She watched Victoria very closely to make sure that she won't do anything stupid but Nick was never supervised as closely."

The boy looked at her before he sighed. "So we should stay away from them, Lai?"

She nodded seriously. "In this state, Nick is unpredictable and therefore in no condition to be bothered with anything," she said. "He will drag or carry Vicky through this tournament if necessary and as much as I hate to say this: they will reach the goal before we will be there."

* * *

"How amazing, young Miss Wei!" the Drachman alchemist who had the doubtful honour of being Min Li's partner screeched as she knocked down another opponent with the technique Chen Bo had taught her. She easily managed to shut down the complete chi circulation of any opponent and watched how they fell down to her feet. Since her speed was extremely high, she hadn't been hit so far and her partner was also uninjured. (Min Li had to force herself to let him be this way because she was greatly annoyed by his attitude and therefore more than willed to break his nose.) She was used to hard training but she had never been tortured like this. She had borrowed old clothes from her mother because she had left her own training equipment in Xing when she had moved. So she wore a tight blue shirt with silver buttons and ornaments along with black pants. She had decided against the light armour she had worn during her bodyguard training because it would have been too heavy and since she intended to pass this test without a problem, she couldn't afford additional weight.

"Stop flattering me and make yourself more useful!" the black-haired girl snapped as she crossed her arms across her chest and glared at him. "I don't have any time to waste!"

She was nervous and this made her far more aggressive than she usually was. It was her mother's temper which she usually kept locked behind her calm behaviour but sometimes, she couldn't keep her mask intact and acted the way she wanted to. Nerissa had mentioned once that most of them had a face they showed in public and another for moments when no one was looking and they could freak out as much as they wanted to – which was quite relieving for Min Li who crushed the ego of young men who tried to flirt with her wherever she went.

"Understood, Miss Wei," her partner said before he frowned. "Why is it getting that hot now?"

* * *

"…impressive," Lady Ming admitted as she stared at the fire in the distance. "The Hawkeye-family truly didn't lose her strength along the years. What do you say, Catherina? The boy deserves the position."

"I agree," the red-haired woman said as she crossed her arms. "But you can't forget that they are nothing without their other half and therefore, it would be nothing but cruel to let Nick pass and Victoria not. My granddaughter will show her strengths later on. She is a tactician."

"Not unlike her mother, huh?" the black-haired former empress smiled as she looked at the groups of two who were still fighting. "I can remember that we had Helena on the watch list … some months before her death, we wanted to invite her and had to delay with because we didn't get a majority for this move … the war left scars in all of us, didn't it?"

Catherina nodded while her face betrayed no emotion.

"…and while Helena was never a part of the state alchemists in Ishbal, she was a state alchemist and therefore it wouldn't have been smart of us to invite her," the lady went on. "Still, she would have been an amazing addition to our league. As an athlete, there was no one who had such a great technique. She was fourteen when she reached so many records … she holds most Amestrian records to the day, right? And Victoria … she seems to take after her mother in that point. They don't win via strength or power. They gain their trophies because they have the best techniques."

"So, you are willed to accept both of them, Lady Ming?" Catherina asked with a frown.

"Look at these great young people, Duchess," the Xingese woman smiled. "Every single participant would deserve to be accepted. And maybe it sounded a little bit like I am contra Victoria … but in fact I would love to have her in the league because she is exactly what we need: a young head, a good name and a great mind. She is one of the pillars of the future and I put a big deal of my trust in her."

"You could have fooled me," the duchess said as she looked at the vanishing flames. "Nessa is down there, isn't she?" she asked quietly. "I had hoped that she might stay out of this for once."

"As your stepdaughter, she probably doesn't know what 'to stay out of something' means."

"Likely, yeah," the redhead smirked as she looked at the burning sky. "The sun goes down."

"I love to watch the sunset," the former empress smiled as she looked up as well. "I think that we might end this competition soon. The green team already reached their destination since they hurried away from the flames. The black team passed already since they showed enough skill even though they are still far away from their goal. And the blue team … since Jun Li's girl didn't kill her partner yet, she has passed the torture test. She had the hardest test considering that she is the oldest in the field."

"It was cruel of Alexandra to leave the most stupid guy from her crew as Min Li's test," Catherina stated as she smirked at her fellow grandmaster. "But … she made sure that everything will be okay."

The both women were tired and wary from the long day they had had with the preparation of the exam and everything else and while some of their members were fighting and organising the war, one unit was currently planning a sport event after the war. The problem was that hardly a country had professional athletes and therefore, important people of every country had been selected to choose contestants for every country. Neither Charlotte Llewellyn nor Lan Fan had been happy about this but they knew that they had to do this. It was their duty in a certain way and both of them had always lived lives there duty meant more than most things.

"Yeah, everything will be okay," Lady Ming agreed with a nod.

* * *

"…a thunderstorm?" Alex Armstrong asked as he stopped for a moment before Jade fell against him. Both alchemists were exhausted after a long day and Jade's injuries had never healed properly since the night she had gotten the wound. Both alchemists had defended a large part of the borderline with Phil, Abigail and Alexandra. They had fought hard and after a whole day, their uniforms looked like they had been worn on a trip straight through hell. Alexandra's jacket had lost a sleeve and Phil's jacket was basically non-existent after a long and hard battle.

"Looks like it." Alexandra narrowed her eyes. "We should get back to the camp, comrades."

"I agree," Abigail said as she looked up to the dark clouds on the crimson sky.

"This weather is dangerous for us," Jade stated as she wiped away the sweat from her forehead.

"Let's hurry up," her brother agreed.

The five alchemists made their way through the desert and once more, Alex wondered why Lady Mustang had even decided to go with them. There would have been other times where she could have spent time with people closer to her own age who would have been honoured to spend time with the Butterfly Alchemist. But Abigail had fought with her children and her old friend and Alex had to admit that Air Alchemy was less destructive but at least as effective as Flame Alchemy.

"Sounds like a plan," Alexandra agreed as she wrapped the remains of her jacket closer around her shoulders. Despite being in a desert, she still felt a certain chill in the storm.

"Right now, I would admit that Roy's alchemy can be useful," Jade complained as she kicked a rock out of the way with her brother's help. Just like before, they twins were unstoppable once they decided to fight together. "Even I can feel the cold now."

"We won't make it back before hell breaks lose above us," Alexandra sighed as she looked back down.

"Alright," Abigail said as she stopped. "Alex, can you create a shelter? Jade and Phil, you make a fire. We need to recover from this day before we can return to our camp."

The Strong Arm Alchemist nodded before he punched the earth and created a small shelter. "I hope that this will be enough, madam," he said respectfully.

"That is perfect," Alexandra stated as she sat down and took off her ruined jacket. "Do we have cards or anything to eat? We have to kill a lot of time, don't we?"

Phil looked up from the fire he had created with his sister's help. "Jade has some oranges in her bag and I have chocolate. We have some food but just in case, we should be careful," he muttered.

"It's like camping," Jade grinned while she watched the flame they had managed to produce. Despite being incredibly smart and able to find a solution in every situation, the Mustang-twins often had trouble to create fire without burning down more than they actually wanted.

"Kids, you should rest," Abigail said while she wrapped her long coat around her children. It was more or less a miracle how she had brought her coat through the fights without ripping the thing apart. Now, Abigail looked better than her comrades, especially since she had tied her hair again and had no lose strands framing her face. The air alchemist smiled tenderly as Phil wrapped one arm around his sister who rested her head on his chest and fell asleep.

"You are a lucky woman, indeed," Alexandra stated as she took a sip from her bottle. "You married and got two wonderful children. Most rich heiresses I know would have complained all the time today."

"Jade is a little bit stronger than most heiresses," the Butterfly Alchemist replied while she braided her daughter's hair again. "She was never just an heiress. She was always much more than that – and that's why she never complained when the going went rough, Alexandra."

"They look peaceful together," Alex stated as he sat down and crossed his massive arms.

"They always did," Abigail smiled as she patted Phil's shoulder. "They aren't like Nick and Victoria who cannot be without each other. They can be without their twin but together, they are the strongest because that's when they are the most peaceful. As a little child, Jade couldn't sleep when her brother wasn't in the same room. She never calmed down enough to fall asleep."

"It has to be great to know that your children protect each other," the Drachman woman said.

"I am surprised that you aren't a mother yet, Alexandra," Abigail said softly. "I thought that you got married some years ago. At least, your old master said that you were engaged…"

"I broke the engagement because I had something I had to do before I can start a family," the brunette said with a shrug. "Anyway, I am just thirty-three and that means that I have some time left."

"I understand this," Alex nodded wisely. "Before I would even start thinking about starting a family, I would want this world to be a better place … and that's why I didn't leave the military yet. I could have resigned many times but somehow, I still feel like I am doing something good for the country."

"And that's the way it should be," Alexandra agreed.

"Yeah…" Abigail said as she closed her eyes. "I still wonder if Abel's death was necessary."

* * *

"…you are sure?" Roy asked as he looked at his cousin-in-law.

The blonde nodded. "It's impossible that I am wrong," she said softly. "I went through the old files, many times, and searched for little remarks … it was one huge puzzle … but in the end, I won."

"It would kill Abigail to learn the truth."

"Probably."

"She always blamed herself … and to learn that she was right in a way…"

"It would be the darkest day in her life, certainly."

"Serena, what would you do if you were in my place?" the chancellor asked tiredly.

She sighed deeply as she looked at the dark town to her feet. "I really don't know," she said. "This happened so many years ago. She had thirty years to accept that he would never come home. To tell her now what really happened might kill her because to learn that it was her fault for borrowing him her car and allowing him to go in her place … this was why he was murdered…" she shook her head. "It is your father and your mother, on the other hand. It's your decision to make, Roy Mustang. I just can't help you like I could help you in the past."

* * *

_It disturbed him greatly that she hardly spoke. He knew that she was intelligent and he also happened to know that she had a strong opinion of everything but she never bothered to share her thought with anyone else. She always seemed to be a little bit left out and he wondered why. He was staying in the Hawkeye-mansion for more than two years now and he could still count the occasions when he had heard her voice on one hand._

_He sat in the kitchen and read some books while he took notes when a shadow darkened his paper. He raised his head and saw the silent girl who held a mug of hot cacao. She handed it over to him before she took place on the opposite chair._

_"Thanks, Miss Serena," he said politely. "That's very nice from you … but shouldn't you sleep?"_

_She just shook her head while she grabbed his notes and a red pen before she started to correct everything. She was not part of the training but she was obviously well-informed and smart._

_He had never been alone with her in a room before because she usually avoided him but to him, she was like Jade – fragile and strong at the same moment. Her blond hair flooded down her back and she held it back with a red ribbon. But even though she shared the beauty of her sisters, she seemed to be different from them._

_Her deep sapphire eyes were frozen landscapes with flowers made of ice and snowflakes were still visible on her long lashes. As he looked out of the window, he saw her traces in the snow. What had she done outside the house?_

_He had been waiting for this lonely winter night because he was interested in the secret she held and he wondered if he would have the time to rescue her before the coldness could devour her? She was a princess and her heart was made of ice to protect it from more pain. But still, there was no coldness in her soul. She was a fragile little thing with more patience than anyone else in a world so full of tears but there is no bitterness in her eyes. Even though it was rare for her mother to be present and even though her sisters were hardly what you would call affectionate, Serena was someone who showed love towards everyone._

_Suddenly he could hear her voice. It was pure and full of hope and it seemed strange that it was still so calm and beautiful for she hadn't spoken in weeks. "I saw the guitar case in your room," she said lowly and pushed back a rebellious strand of her hair. "Can you play?"_

_There is was: the first time that she had started a conversation and he knew that he had to keep the spark alive in order to create a fire. He looked up from the corrected notes and blushed slightly. "Not really," he admitted. "I bought it because my cousin can play the guitar and I kinda forgot that I would need a teacher to show me how to play. Why do you ask, Miss Serena?"_

_She wrapped her hands around her own mug. "It would have been nice to have someone to play with sometimes," she whispered. "I … um … play since I was four … and I sometimes wish for someone to play with me."_

_He decided that it was time for a bold move and smiled at her. "You could teach me and we can play together one day," he said. "You … um … don't have to speak if you don't want to!"_

_She ran her tiny hand through her long hair. "It's not like I don't want to speak," she said while she wrapped her arms around her legs. "It's just … sometimes I really want to say something but I can't. The words are there and I can feel them … I just can bring myself to speak."_

_"That's no problem," he said friendly. "We have time … you can say everything you want to."_

_She raised her head and a little smile appeared on her face. "Thank you, Roy," she said with her fragile voice that was always thin as ice. "You are alright, I guess."_

_He sighed deeply as he ruffled his hair. "You too, Serena," he said, deciding that they were on first name basis now. "Hey, can you show me some stuff on the guitar?" he asked._

_She sighed as she looked at the clock on the wall. "Of course," she said before she got up and took the mug from the table. "You can come with me. My guitar is in my room, you know?"_

_Serena's room was exactly like Roy had imagined it. Everything was plain and functional. The walls were painted in a light blue colour and she had huge windows, like every one else. It was obvious that this room belonged to one of the smartest people in the house since she had made sure that everything was in the right order and – furthermore – neatly and tidy. Her guitar leaned against the wall and she walked over to pick it up. "I expect the best from you," she said and he smiled because – after all – Serena was a Hawkeye and that meant that she tolerated nothing but the best from everyone._

* * *

For a moment, Roy allowed the silence to reign between them once more before he looked straight into her sapphire orbs. "Who do you think can help me this time?" he asked. He wouldn't force her to help him when she didn't want to voice an opinion.

"When I doubt, I would ask Riza," Serena said as she grabbed her bag. "She is usually good with other people's feelings. Maybe she knows what to do this time. I am through with this topic, Roy."

"Serena, I have to thank you for everything," he said seriously. "I don't know how but one day, I will find a way to thank you properly. I won't hold you up now, please, you can go wherever you want to."

She nodded as she turned towards the door. "It would be nice to catch a break someday but I don't see me on a beach anytime soon," she stated drily.

"Maybe after the war," he said optimistically. "Did you hear anything from Nessa in Creta?"

"Nope, the last thing I heard was that the Xingese lady mentioned that the kids will probably pass," the blond head of security said amused. "Well, I see you tomorrow I guess. Why did I promise Jade to fill in for her while she gets to fight?"

"Because she asked you very nicely," Roy smirked. "Well, until tomorrow and I'll ask Riza what to do."


	15. 179: Addictions

**Addictions**

* * *

"And another year ends," Victoria said as she stretched out on her bed. After the test, she had been properly treated by a doctor before she had been allowed to return to her hotel room where her brother had waited for her while she had been gone.

"Yeah, today is Jade's birthday," Nick said as he watched how the sun raised in the east. "And while this means that the old year is over, it still means that life goes on because after this end, awaits us all a new beginning. It's like the irony of fate runs like a crimson thread through their lives. Jade puts an end to something and Phil brings a new start. Poor Jade – she is always associated with the negative thing while he is often called the son of light."

"It isn't much different in our case," Victoria said softly as she sat down and rubbed her side where the bandages suddenly itched. "So many people forget to see me when you are shining … I don't have any illusions about this whole issue. If they let me pass … it will be because of you. I had no chance to prove that I am more than capable myself. I hate things like this, you know? To reach a destination because another person fought in my place…"

Her brother chuckled before he ruffled her hair. "Did you forget, Vicky? You were the one who solved all the riddles we met on our way," he said. "So you worked very hard for this as well. Don't let anyone tell you that you didn't do as much as I did."

"I didn't nothing," she said as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Usually, I am the one who saves the day but today, I was the one who needed to be saved. My ego cannot take this, you know? It makes me burn inside because I just don't know how to deal with this. And I hate when I don't want to know what I have to do. This doesn't happen often after all."

"It never happens at all, Vicky, but sometimes, you need to leave the spotlight to me," he said while he wrapped an arm around her and held her close. "You are a hell of a fighter, Vicky. Not only in exams or competitions, no, whenever life throws a challenge at you, you fight to the end. I admire this."

"To fight is the only thing I am really good at," she said as she closed her eyes for a moment. "I just hope that Owen is alright. Well, Jade promised me to keep an eye on him. Let's just hope that it will be alright … sooner or later, at least."

"Jade would go through hell to keep a promise," her brother said as he kissed her temple. "You just have to learn to trust other people, Vicky. I know that is just not what you do because it is maybe the most un-Victoria-like thing in the world to you but … you really have to learn this."

"I can trust other people but sometimes, I feel like it is better for me to be more mistrusting. You remember the way mom and dad were so trusting … in the end, it was part of the reason why they died … and this makes me so damn angry. It wants me to yell and shatter some glasses."

"You are the most awesome older sister the world has ever seen," he smirked. "Well, we really should sleep now since we need to get up quite early."

"You were incredibly good today," she muttered while she listened to his heartbeat. "The way you deal with the Flame Alchemy … you know how stained it is and yet, you wield it like there is no other type of alchemy for you. I really admire your dedication, Nick. You got so strong…"

"No matter how dangerous and lethal it is," her brother muttered while he twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. "It is never more dangerous than the person who holds it. It's just like any other weapon. I know that if you had had the time to get back up and to fight yourself, you would have been just as strong. I mean … you chose your weapon wisely, didn't you?"

"Wisdom and knowledge is something I've too much of," she muttered as she allowed the exhaustion to overpower her. Nick watched her for a moment before he fell asleep as well.

* * *

Min Li wasn't surprised as she ran into Nerissa on her way to the pond of the hotel. "So you couldn't sleep as well?" the Xingese girl asked as she crossed her arms and leaned against the railing as well.

Nerissa stayed silent for a moment while she stared at the cigarette in her left hand. "I didn't even try, you know?" she said softly. "Sometimes, I feel like sleeping would mean to cheat my sisters."

"You usually don't smoke," Min Li stated observant as always. "And you are right-handed."

"True," the blonde replied with a faint smile. "I usually stay away from purple and silver as well but these are things my sisters were made of. Kay smoked whenever she had to calm her nerves and she was left-handed … just another things she shares with Vicky. And Lynn always wore silver and purple. Today, I really mused if it had been better if I would have gotten killed by that Envy-creature as well. I still don't get why it let me get away with my life."

"Sometimes, it is crueller to let someone stay alive."

"I know, I know … but that guy was too sadistic to let me live just because of this," Nerissa said as she wiped away a stray tear which she would always blame on the harsh wind. "Well, maybe I will never know why he decided to leave me there. Maybe it was the same reason why Phil was left alive: the bastard thought that the injuries would kill us."

"Maybe, yes," Min Li said thoughtfully as she stared at the stars above her.

"You are a lot like your mother," the blonde said as she looked at the girl. "And your performance today was also very impressive. Your mother would have been very proud if she had seen you."

"My mother is always proud of me … probably because she feels guilty," the black-haired girl replied as she closed her eyes for a moment. "But I have to train harder when I want to be the daughter she deserves after all she's been through. She is a wonderful person after all and whoever disagrees has to take it out with me. And I am not going easy on anyone who insults my mother."

"I really admire the way you can love your mother without any doubts or old resentments."

"But you are extremely close to your mother as well!" Min Li said in wide-eyed surprise. "You and your mother are always whispering and giggling. You are like best friends or something like this!"

"The thing is … Catherina isn't my biological mother," Nerissa said while she raised the cigarette to her lips. "You can't know it since you are a little bit too young but my real mother was a psychopathic woman who ruined me really good. Catherina raised me since I was six and so maybe she is really more of a mother than my real one ever was. Catherina … she is someone special."

"That's probably why she is part of this league," Nerissa said as she took out a new cigarette. "Dad said that most alchemists who are here are different in one or another way. I am pretty sure that I am not the only one in this league who has a little problem … up there." She rested the fingertips of her right hand on her forehead for a second. "Anyway, I just hope that everyone else is alright. I would hate to lose another person that I love. I've been through this hell too often."

"You are really a strong woman … considering all you have been through…" Min Li said with a warm smile. She was very pretty when she smiled and it was a pity in Nerissa's eyes that she didn't do it often.

"Girls, no matter how nice it is that you go along, could you turn your attention to me for a moment?" Catherina asked with a teasing smile on her lips.

"No problem," her stepdaughter said amused as she crossed her arms.

"I am not sure if Lady Ming already told you what the league is currently plotting – along with the governments of the five countries which are forming the alliance against Monte Bandeo right now," the Cretan woman said as she leaned against the railing as well. "Anyway, they want to make a huge sport event."

"I am participating," Nerissa said without a second thought. "From what I saw of this little minx called Jade Mustang, she's going to take part as well and I need to win more medals than her! That's everything I need to do!"

"Don't you think that this would be slightly ridiculous, Nessa?" her stepmother asked with a soft smile around her mouth. "You and Jade will kill each other during this competition at this rate, you know?"

The relationship between the both young women had always been a really complicated one because they had started with a fight. Jade had lost and while she had never said anything, most people knew that it had been because of the alcohol she had drunken during the party. And Nerissa had to admit that this was likely since Jade hadn't been named the Martial Arts Champion of the Western Area for no reason. She had been called this because she had never lost a fight before Nerissa had attacked her. Other people usually reminded the people who doubted the black-haired woman after her defeat that Jade hadn't been prepared to be attacked and that she had never gotten the chance to fight back. Nerissa herself had to admit that Jade would have probably won if she would have gotten the chance to fight properly – and she hated to know that Jade was at least her equal while Phil was probably one of the few people who could beat her – hands down. And that frustrated her because Phil wasn't supposed to be able to beat her the same way he beat his little sister before.

"You know exactly that Jade will never be a match for you," Catherina said with a soft hint of annoyance in her voice. "She has a body made of steel, a body that would never fail her … and she hasn't been shot into the legs, Nessa."

"She doesn't have the same will made of steel I have, mother," the blonde replied as she crossed her arms and glared at the moon. "She doesn't feel the way I feel."

"But don't you think that she has her own reasons to prove that she isn't beaten yet?" the red-haired woman asked. "Fact is: in normal hand-to-hand combat hardly anyone is a match for her or her family. I sparred against Abigail before she had to leave and this madwomen wiped the floor with me. And Jade … she is more like her mother than one of them would ever admit."

* * *

The hall was pretty, Laila had to admit this as she walked down the stairs with Cai next to her. The blonde had bandages around her arms from a minor injury from the exam and her neck was sore from sleeping in a weird angle. Still, she ignored the pain as she looked around for her siblings. She was so sure that they had passed as well because there was no way in hell that they would allow her to outrun them. And there they were, leaning against a table like they owned the hall. Nick looked great and healthy as always while Victoria's lips formed a thin line which alerted Laila of the pain her sister was trying to suppress – obviously not as successful as usually.

"I heard somewhere that she broke some rips," Cai whispered.

"She is too much like Jade – no kidding," Laila replied. "This I-look-like-I-did-nothing-dangerous-but-somehow-my-rips-are-broken-thing is something Jade would pull off usually. And Vicky is imitating her now?"

"Looks like it," her boyfriend said with a sigh. "Well, it happened when she fell and crashed into a tree so I guess that she originally had some scratches as well but as usual, she ignored her doctors and healed the minor injuries."

"It isn't a bad idea, you know? Healing the wounds, I mean. Disobeying doctors can always end badly," Min Li said as she appeared behind them. "Especially minor wounds often carry the risk of an infection and Tori doesn't want to be sick again. Oh, and before I can forget: congratulation, you two."

"But you! You passed as well!" Cai announced proudly as he shook her hands. "I mean … I didn't doubt your skill or something like that but…"

"I will never be my mother in your mind, I know," the older girl replied.

"…yeah…" the prince confirmed after a moment of silence. "I know that you have to be pretty good because the Scary Lady wouldn't have you invited if you weren't but … in my eyes, Jun Li is the strongest person who exists. I would put her even above Nerissa who is supposed to be one of the strongest even if she would be merely place four in my list of the strongest females I know, after Jun-Jun, Catherina and Jade … and no matter how much I try to get this thoughts out of my head … you aren't your mother and you will never be her. I don't want to sound mean or something like this but … Jun-Jun is ages stronger than you, Min Li, and therefore I am often surprised at your strength…"

The girl in the yellow dress merely smiled at him. "I don't take it personally," she said quietly. "I am proud that she is my mother and yes, I know just too well that there is probably no one who could beat her at the moment."

"Maybe Catherina could," Laila said softly as she looked at her grandmother who was currently talking to Lady Ming. "Catherina is supposed to be an extremely strong fighter and maybe, she could beat Jun Li if she really wanted to."

"But you have to admit that Catherina isn't known for actually fighting for fame or glory … and to beat Jun-Jun would be mainly a matter of glory," Cai said as he patted Min Li's shoulder. "Are you okay, Min-Min?"

"I am fine," she replied as she uncrossed her arms. "I think it's about to start."

And really, the Xingese grandmaster stepped onto the small stage, followed by Alain and Catherina who had been (re)instated as Grandmasters as well and so it was also the first time the new quintet of grandmasters would welcome new blood in the league. (Both the Aerugian and the Drachman grandmaster had been forced to stay away. The Aerugian was a general of his country's army and he had been ordered to stay in the desert and Alexandra, the Drachman grandmaster, had duties towards her country as well and was currently fighting in the desert along with Abigail and some other members of the league.)

"First of all, I want to thank all the members who made it possible to accept these new members of our league by preparing the exams," Catherina said with a warm smile and most people who didn't know her would have been deceived by this smile because it seemed so soft, so friendly.

"No big deal, D'Artagan!" a Cretan master yelled while he winked at her.

"And secondly, we want to welcome the new members of our circle," Alain said to hurry up with the ceremony which was a good idea since some of the new ones looked like they were about to faint here and now.

"From Xing, Min Li Wei," the Xingese Lady said as she shook the girl's hand before she handed over the velvet box with the seal of the league. Min Li smiled brightly at her before she stepped to the side. "Min Li showed great abilities in alkahestry and she also proved that she can stay patient under very difficult circumstances since we sent her through hell."

"Also from Xing, Cai Yao," Catherina said friendly and smiled at the boy. "Good job and I really loved the way you transmuted the stairs to get onto the higher level. We were really impressed by this calm and effective comportment."

"From Amestris, Laila Hawkeye," Alain said as he looked at his nephew's daughter who seemed exhausted yet happy. "Another great performance and a real talent for Lightening Alchemy … like it should be in that family, right?"

Laila nodded as she accepted her own box. She felt wonderful after this because while she had known that this technique was incredibly effective, she had never thought that anyone might appreciate her for this because despite the fact that she was currently one of the few alchemists who used Lightening Alchemy, she had always felt like a cheater because she hadn't done anything but reading an old manuscript her mother had written and afterwards, she had trained a little bit. Compared to the effort her siblings had put into their offensive techniques, this was hardly worth to be mentioned. Well, the twins had also taken their arrays from other people but they had been forced to decode everything while she had benefitted from the work Jade had put into the old manuscript. Nick and Victoria had worked as a team and somehow, they had managed to figure out Flame and Water Alchemy from the oldest manuscripts in the huge library the red-haired girl was guarding since her mother's death.

Laila had seen how tired they had been after hours of reading and translating old passages into modern language … and in a way, she had felt guilty because while she had had everything translated by Jade, her siblings had done everything by themselves. But this was the way they were. They were far too proud to take the easiest way out of something – and this was why Laila was so damn proud to be their sister. Victoria and Nick were an awesome team despite their different alchemistic preferences and they would always work together. In training, they had produced a huge cloud of steam that had made it nearly impossible to see something. (Well, Min Li had used her ability to sense chi and had beaten them all because even though Cai had the same ability, he hadn't her experience and her speed – and had been paralysed first.)

"The big surprise from Amestris, Nick Hawkeye-Hamilton," Lady Ming said as she looked at the black-haired boy. "You are a worthy heir for grandmaster Hawkeye, young one. You managed to surprise me … and hardly anyone managed to do this, Nick. I expect to hear more great things from you."

Nick nodded before he smiled at his sister in a way that said 'c'mon and cheer up a bit, Vicky, the world didn't end for you'. He knew how unhappy Victoria was and how much it would have meant to her to be able to prove the elite that she could do far more than healing injuries. But no matter how sad and depressed she was right now, she would get over it sooner or later and once she did, she would shine like a star.

It was funny, Nick mused, how everyone had associated Victoria with the night while he was usually linked to the day and the sun because everyone seemed to think that it matched their personalities.

Nick was like the sun, everyone said this. Victoria said that he even shone when the flowers wilted and storm clouds appeared above them because this was when he would find her; no matter where she stood or which time it was because while Nick lived today, Victoria always lived tomorrow. And in his loyalty, Nick often made the mistake of staying too long when he should have gone a long time ago. But he wasn't like his mother because Lynn had never came to live in another time than the past that had tied her down and suffocated her until she had died.

Nick was not like her. Nick wasn't a martyr like his mother or his aunts because to them, loving had meant heartache because they had always loved too much and too deeply and healing the other had meant to suffer in silence because they had all taken the equivalent exchange for too seriously.

But Nick, young and innocent as he was, was the sunlight and he had been always there when the real sun had been gone … and Victoria needed his warmth just like the moon depended on the sun for light and everything else.

And still, Victoria was everything Nick longed to be and everything he would never be because it was foolish for the sun to yearn to be the moon. And this was how it was: Victoria was the mystery, the one who had never allowed anyone or anything to break the mask of perfect self-control – and it was good this way because one of them had to be the enigma while the other one was open and very present in every situation. And as different the twins seemed to be, everyone knew how similar they truly were. Both of them were children of the light, born from true love and from deep devotion to each other. Many things between them would always be a mystery to any other person because some things just weren't meant to be understood by anyone else.

"And the last participant from Amestris, with another excellent performance that surprised many as well: Victoria Hawkeye-Hamilton," the Xingese woman said surprisingly friendly. "The mastermind behind the success of the black team with a talent for Healing Alchemy that is greater than anything I have seen in all the years I have been watching alchemists of every age and nationality." She proudly patted Victoria's shoulder as the girl stepped onstage. "I know that you aren't too happy about your own performance but cheer up a bit, will you? We know that you are good. We wouldn't have invited you to the test if you weren't, you know?"

"I know," Victoria said but her voice betrayed her discontentment about the whole situation which didn't surprise anyone who really knew her.

"There will be a day for you too shine but you shouldn't try to hurry your fate."

"Patience is a virtue after all, isn't it?" the red-haired girl whispered as she stepped next to her brother.

* * *

Jade was a pathetic sight as she sat at the campfire and stared into the flames. Her lithe fingers were wrapped around her glass of whiskey, still the first and probably also the last. Her injuries had been treated by one of the Xingese members of their squad and while the skin was still tender, it was better than running around with injuries with the bad habit of reopening whenever the blood was running a little bit faster through her body than usually. The black-haired woman looked tired and frustrated as she stared into the flames and despite the fact that it was the evening of her birthday, most people left her alone. Her mother and her brother had left early for a mission with Alex and Alexandra and despite being popular Jade had no real friends among the present people.

It would have been different if Lynn would have been still alive because Lynn had always known how to cheer her friend up. But Lynn was gone, had been gone for such a long time that it had become very difficult for the surviving friend to remember her face. Jade huffed in frustration and sighed deeply before she emptied her glass. It was depressing to remember the better days, she decided. It just hurt to think back to the birthdays she had celebrated with her friend because Lynn was gone and would never be there to wake her up at midnight – just to be the first to congratulate.

Maybe it was loneliness that made Jade think about this now. Despite having so many people around her, Jade felt alone because she had no friends next to her right now. She had no one she could speak with … no one who would know that her teasing usually meant well. She hadn't Roy who would know that she didn't mean it when she made one of her sarcastic remarks. She wanted Phil next to her because despite everything, he had always understood her. She missed Lynn's presence because they had been two of the same kind. And maybe the most, Jade missed her husband and her children because they knew her better than anyone else and she wanted them around her – now.

"Hey, Mustang," a familiar voice said as Edward sat down next to her. "Mei and Al ditched me for a mission and well, here I am … all alone, just like you."

"Fullmetal," she sighed as she ran a hand through her messy hair. "How have you been?"

"Could have been better but hey, we are all alive and therefore, we are in no position to complain," he replied as he poured new water into his glass. "A little bird told me that it's your birthday before she went away with my brother and my sister-in-law, Breeze Soul…"

"You can sit with me," she said as she wrapped her coat around her shoulders. "I know, it's December and I should know that this means that it's freaking cold but this is a little bit too much."

"Thanks, Birthday Alchemist," he smirked as he held out his water bottle. "You should stop drinking this much, Mustang. I know, being away from the ones I love the most is hell for me but … getting all depressive and drunk about it won't help anyone, you know?"

"I didn't drink much," she said with an insulted expression on her face. "Look at all the Drachman guys here, Elric: they drink much because they all want to go home. I don't drink more than usually."

"So, you finally admit that you are an alcoholic, Stormy?"

"Just because I like a good whiskey every once in a while, I am no alcoholic," she said with a pout. "I drink one glass per day, nothing more. And it's the only alcoholic beverage I willingly consume."

"Whatever you say," he said and held out a sloppily wrapped gift. "It's nothing special but one of the Xingese girls had them and I bought them because I thought that you might like them. I don't want to exaggerate and I know that you hate it when people make a big thing out of your birthday but…"

She stayed silent while she looked straight at him.

"…but we are partners and teammates, no matter how much we try to deny it," he went on after a short break. "And that's why I wanted to give you something."

"That's very nice of you," she said softly as she took the present and unwrapped it carefully. "Phil came to my tent at midnight before he left and said that he has a really awesome present but I am sure that he forgot about my birthday again. He always does, you know? I am used to it."

"Aren't you guys twins? How can he forget about your birthday? Is the idiot that dumb?"

"Technically, his birthday is the day after mine and how he does it, I really don't know but he always forgets about my birthday," she said before she opened the box. The hair sticks were made of silver and on the upper side was a beautifully crafted fish while the lengths were designed with wave ornaments. "You really listened to me?" she asked.

"When you went on and on about how you loved to swim in your youth?" Edward grinned as he leaned back. "Yep, I listened to you even though I thought my ears started to bleed after some hours."

"You are such a charming little boy," she replied as she grabbed her hair to fix it into a messy bun with her new hair sticks. "How do I look, Elric?"

"Mustang, just because you feel old now and need to hear that you look great, I am not going to be nice to you," he grinned. "But yeah, I think you look pretty good – for your age. You aren't as pretty as your mother but hey, your cousin said that you might look as good as her one day."

"Roy and you … oh, I really don't know who I am going to beat up first!" she muttered. "I mean … how dares he? I believe that I have to remind him of his place! And he is number three! He is a place behind Phil and me!"

"You can admit that you could never beat him," Edward taunted.

"Elric, I did nothing else since my childhood," she smirked as she toyed with the ribbon from the present. "Phil, however, always goes easy on me. My little brother is afraid of hurting me and so, I am the only one along with Bea he would never fight seriously. He is just too nice for this world, I often think."

"You miss him, don't you?" he asked quietly as he looked at her.

"Yeah," she said as she wrapped her arms around her legs. "Of course I do."

"Shouldn't you be used to watch him leave?" the blonde asked.

"You never get used to it as long as your heart still beats," she said. "This is like … I don't know … the last proof in this war that my heart still beats."

Edward looked at her with a dry smile. "You aren't the only one who feels like this," he said calmly as he looked at the Cretan alchemists who sung softly.

She slowly shook her head. "I just feel sorry for him," she replied seriously as always. "Do you want to hear the poem Lynn wrote about him when we were younger?  
_I would have liked to write a better one  
one about your love, your kind ways  
the gift that always sings for others  
I wanted to use it to your praises_

But what I was trying and how I sat there  
writing and changing the words' places  
the emotions washed over it and took it away  
ruined the few lines I had already found

So take the little bit I have to offer  
the plain words without the rhyme  
and take my friendship please as well  
where you feel the most, silence reigns."

"I heard from Mustang that she always wrote poems and stuff like this," Edward said as he patted his teammate's shoulder. He had heard many times how close Jade and Lynn had been when the other one had been still alive and sometimes he wondered, how Jade had been able to deal with her friend's death. He could still remember the way she had freaked out when Envy had confessed that he had murdered the silver-haired woman and sometimes, the Fullmetal Alchemist could swear that he saw the same raw pain in her eyes when she saw something that reminded her of her late friend.

"Yeah," Jade nodded. "Do you … do you want to hear another?"

"Sure, they are pretty good," he smiled.

The woman coughed and took a sip from her water bottle before she began to speak again. "_It shall be given the beautiful day  
often its cheerful light shone on you  
us, you never stopped to love  
still, I ask, forget us not.  
_  
_It shall be given the soft light at night  
often I saw your sorrowful face  
I never heard your voice tremble  
yet, I say, forget me not._

It shall be forgiven the dawn  
often I saw tears in the faint light  
I'd never knew to miss you  
so I say, just don't die."

"For which person out of the circle she wrote this?" Edward asked.

"Nerissa," Jade replied with a sigh. "I didn't knew it at the time I first read it, you know, but the more time passes, the more I come to understand that even I who knew Lynn far better than most people … that even I don't know anything about her … because she hid so many things in her poems, so many feelings she never got to show because the situation didn't allow it…"

"She sounds like a tragic person," Edward said quietly.

"She was maybe the most tragic among us," the woman agreed. "Most of her poems were sad or at least bittersweet." She sighed deeply and rubbed her temples where she felt another headache beginning. "The strange thing about knowing another person really well and starting to love him or her for being such a great person is … that you stop remembering how it was before this person was in your life. I mean … I got used to knowing Lynn so damn fast. I got used to apologising to her when I went too far. And … when you spend so much time on reading letters again and again, it shouldn't be surprising to start loving the person who wrote these letters, should it? I always guarded my heart better than I would guard the secrets of Air Alchemy … but somehow, she found a way to it and became the best friend I ever had. She was like the sister I never had and if I had had the choice, I would have chosen her life over mine, any day."

"You are depressed," Edward said but he understood. Lynn's death had been for Jade the same thing Alphonse' death would have been to him: a catastrophe.

She shook her head and smiled thinly before she closed her eyes for a moment. "This isn't a depression, Elric, this is just the sadness of a woman who had to realise how much time she wasted when she was young yet old enough to know it better," she said. "This is just my annual sadness."

"If it makes you feel better, I have to thank you," he said slowly as he looked at her. "When Hawkeye … Riza … told me Ishbal, not too long ago … well, I think of you, you know? You were in a similar place as well after all. She didn't tell me the story with many emotions because this isn't how she is but … but I think that I know now how it was for you … for her, for Hamilton, Mr Hughes … and for you. You didn't want it, right? That sounds probably very strange but … you didn't want it to end the way it ended, right? You chose the way of the army because you wanted to help this country. You wanted change …  
Hell, waking up was surely everything but good. But … don't worry, Mustang, alright? There will be another day, another chance for you."

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow but he just smiled at her.

"Back then … when we met, despite acting like a total bitch, you kinda gave me new courage because you somehow showed me that there is always something worth fighting for. No matter how much I bothered and annoyed you, you kinda respected me in your own twisted way, didn't you? I was probably still a kid in your eyes and you still accepted me … took me seriously. Just like you knew that I wanted this more than anything else…" he sighed. "You didn't tell me what was giving you your strength after everything, after the war and after … Lynn. But somehow, I knew it: you want to see smiling, happy people – especially the ones you care for. And just like the bastard you call a cousin, you treated me like an equal … well, at least the same way you treated everyone else who isn't part of your family. Even if I couldn't play around with Air, Fire or Lightening, you gave me a chance, a chance I probably wasted by acting like a total jerk.  
Still … you never judged. You understood. I was a joke. A joke with an arm and a leg made of steel … you helped me becoming serious."

She rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me that you actually give me this much credit," she sighed. "As you should know by now, I am more of a failure than anyone else. I am just a human being … a human who couldn't even keep her best friend alive … the transfer to Central should have been Phil's and mine, you know? We should have been the ones to support Maes back then."

"Why weren't you transferred if it should have been yours?" he asked.

"Llewellyn requested our stay and the only other team were Lynn and Martin." Jade sighed deeply. "Lynn … she knew that it would be either her or me who would die early. It was always a matter of who would have a little bit more luck in the end … and she with her lack of luck was matched against me: Lucky Jade, the one who had always more luck than brain."

"So … you blame yourself for her death … welcome in the club, I guess."

"Ah right, you blame yourself as well. I tend to forget this, Elric."

"But unlike you, I really sentenced her to her death, Mustang," he said. "Unlike you, I really asked her to investigate something despite knowing that it might easily cause her and her husband's death. This is the difference. You can say that you didn't take the transfer because you had other duties. I have to say that I knew the risks when I asked her to keep an eye on these things."

"She could never say no to a challenge – just like Serena. And Martin … he chose to follow her because he could never watch her leave without him."

"And with my selfishness, I caused Nick's and Victoria's loneliness."

"And you really think that Lynn didn't know the risk, you foolish morons?" Serena asked as she walked over to them and leaned forward. "Do you really believe that my sister, my twin, who was a genius in her own right didn't know the risks? Do you really think that she would want you to blame yourselves? Do you really think that she … regretted anything, Jade?"

The black-haired woman punched the earth and glared up at her. "I knew Lynn a little bit better than you did, Serena," she stated drily. "And I know that Lynn never wanted to leave us behind. And yeah, I still blame myself because I caused her death with my foolish pride. I killed her just as effective as Envy did."

"You are such a drama queen, Jade," the blond woman said. "Yeah, maybe you did. Maybe you really caused her death. But really, don't you think that Maes feels a little bit worse than you do? He had a real chance to stop them. They took care of the investigation because he couldn't and yet, he could have stopped them if he had wanted to." Serena closed her eyes for a moment. "You torture him with the way you still hate yourself for making the decision to say in WestCity. You are hurting him nearly as badly as you hurt yourself." She grabbed Jade's collar and shook the older woman. "What happened to Jade, the emerald princess?"

"She grew up … and I highly advise that you do the same, Serena."

"You should have been called Onyx instead of Jade, honestly," the blonde said.

"I heard that before."

* * *

Roy heard the door close and turned around. "Riza," he said calmly as he looked at his wife. "I bet Serena told you everything before she jumped into the train this morning to join her fellow alchemists?"

The blond woman nodded as she sat down. "No matter how you decide, it will hurt your aunt in a terrible way," she stated. "If you don't tell her and one of the members of Serena's investigation unit accidentally mentions it in her presence, she will suffer worse than if you tell it her. If she has to hear it from someone else, she will think that you tried to keep it a secret … and after all she has been through, she really shouldn't have to face betrayal from her favourite nephew. Yes, it has been a long time and yes, maybe the truth will reopen her wounds and pour salt into them … but she deserves to know what happened."

"So we came to the same decision once more," Roy stated with a thin smile.

"I would tell her the truth about the night your parents died … even if it means that she blames herself even more," Riza said. "Yes, it was her car he drove and it was her appointment he was going to because she didn't feel well. But even though she should have died that night, it has been too long for her to question herself again and again who was supposed to die. As far as I read in the old files when Rena wanted my opinion, she always wondered if someone had tried to kill her. She was the first to come up with that theory after all."

"To be smart can be a real curse sometimes," Roy said as he thought of all the people who had died because they had known too much – or who had suffered because of their knowledge like his late master.

"Looking back at all the ones who died, I have to agree," Riza said softly as she remembered how close it had been for her to lose everything and everyone. It had been the curse of her family to be too smart for many years and when she remembered those who had died, she had to wonder why it hadn't taken both Nerissa and Victoria from her yet. Both of them had minds sharper than any sword and faster than any bullet. Kay and Lynn who had been the same way had been killed and sometimes, Riza was afraid that Nerissa and Victoria might be the next – especially since both were fighters who could never back down. The stubbornness that was typical for the whole family would never allow this.

"But when I look at those who didn't, I often wonder if it is really this bad with us," Roy said with a smile. "Phil and Jade both survived … and they danced with death as well many times."

"Maybe they were just the better dancers," Riza said drily as she remembered the way the black-haired twins usually danced whenever they got the chance.

"Speaking of Jade: it's her birthday today. And we should head for the party even if it won't be as glamorous as usual since nearly everyone is in the dusty desert and freezes there," Roy said as he took his jacket. "I bet that this was the reason why Serena left this quickly: she wanted to avoid the party. I know her after all."

"According to you, she always leaves when she doesn't want to do something."

"I know, I know … but it is a pattern, don't you think? Whenever she doesn't like a challenge, she runs away. She is good at running after so many years … but one day, she won't be able to run … and I am afraid what might happen to her."

"She is a girl made of steel, don't forget this," Riza said.

"You all are," he said with a soft smile, "but sometimes, this is exactly the point that worries me. No matter how strong you are, one day there will someone even stronger … and Serena would never be able to deal with this."


	16. 180: Phase II

Monte Bandeo fought back for a few months but in June, they had to admit that no matter how hard they tried, they were simply no match for the Alliance. They lost ground against the Xingese fighters who appeared out of thin air. They lost important positions to the Drachman/Amestrian Mountain Units. The alchemists and alkahestry users fought mainly in the defence but they held the front line away from the civilisation. The Cretan and Aerugian armies finally reached the capital of Monte Bandeo and after three days of resistance, the city fell and the war was over.

**Phase II**

* * *

And even among the alchemists who had been the ones without any protection during their battles, the worst injury was a broken arm because the alkahestry user hadn't paid attention for a moment and Jun Li had been forced to push her out of the way to save her life. Jun Li, for example, was among those who even benefitted from the war because the foolish elders of her clan had finally had to accept that she was not the little girl they could push around anymore. Jun Li had used the war just the same way she used every catastrophe: to her own advantage. In her first interview she had even said that she couldn't have chosen the date any better than Monte Bandeo had done it.

But the next problem was already waiting.

"How many medals are you going to win for Amestris?" Nerissa asked as she looked at Jade who had returned from the desert with a new colour scheme. Instead of Onyx Jade, the former Emerald Princess was back again and with her, green in all the shades and no more black. Her very own psychologist, the old Mrs Robinson had been overjoyed to see her like this because it meant that Jade had finally learnt to deal with the darkness and emptiness of her past. She had finally accepted that Lynn's death had never been her fault. She had finally accepted that she had never been responsible for any of the deaths she had really caused because she had acted like a tool to the old Fuhrer. And because she had accepted her innocence, she had returned to her old green clothing. Serena who had seen her first in her lively new clothes had smiled and mused if Lynn could finally rest in peace now.

"Unlike you, Nerissa, I have nothing to prove to anyone," Jade replied calmly and even her voice had returned to her slightly cheerful one she had had as a younger woman. The constant layer of ice had been broken after so many years and instead of a Drachman Blizzard, she was the west wind above the fields of Barley once more. Her eyes burned with new power and her smiles where brighter than before and maybe, she even laughed like before but this was merely a theory of her brother up to now.

"Don't you intend to beat me in this field after I beat you up before?" the blonde asked. "Why don't we make a challenge out of this? We have until September. Now is June … so both of us have time to train. Whoever wins more medals is the winner and if you win, I will apologise in public what I've done."

"A truly tempting offer … and I accept," Jade said as she grabbed the list from Charlotte. "I hope that you can speak in public because I fully intend to win, Nerissa. I've never lost anything like this before."

"So, it's on now, Mustang," Nerissa smirked as she headed for the door. "And don't expect that I would go easy on you. I have a reputation to uphold after all. And most of the time, my sisters won."

"Yeah, but you are older than me … and if it comes to endurance, you have nothing on me," the black-haired woman said. "And by the way … there won't be many competitions we will go directly against each other, right? I mean … martial art goes after weight … and I am lighter than you."

"Did you just call me fat, Mustang?" the slightly insane woman asked harshly.

"I just pointed out that I don't weight as much because I just get back from a war and I didn't like the food there," the Air Alchemist replied nonchalantly. "And just saying, Nerissa: no matter how good your sisters were, you aren't them and I have the full intention to make myself immortal with this. So count on me giving up without one hell of a fight, alright?"

Charlotte took back the list and looked at her former subordinate with a frown on her face. "Don't you think that you are a little bit hard on her?" she asked carefully. "Just because you are back on your old, more ambitious self … do you have to make her feel bad? She is suffering as well, Jade, and it's not like you to taunt others who are already feeling down. What's going on with you today, tell me."

"I taunted her because I know how she feels," Jade said as she looked after the blonde. "And because of this and because I felt the same way not too long ago, I knew that I had to provoke her. She will put up a hellish good fight and I kinda regret that we won't face each other in a direct fight. And she has to fight like the maniac we know her to be since both Catherina and Jun Li are in her class. There will be many interesting fights … and I look forward to see them all." She grinned in her infamous way. "In this class, everyone can beat everyone … and in the end, it will depend on who has the better day."

"So, you knew that she would challenge you to this crazy thing?" Phil asked as he crossed his arms. "You knew that she would ask you to fight her in this strange way after all that happened?"

"I have known Nerissa for an insanely long time and yes, I kinda knew what would happen once I would enter this room," his sister replied. "And frankly, for a moment I was worried but … she won't get me catch off guard again. She might have won this single battle so far … but I will win this war."

"Don't you think that it is time to say that this is in the past?" Charlotte asked patiently.

"She made me look like a bloody beginner, like a total fool. Do you really think that I can forgive this easily? Up to now, there were always more important things to deal with … but now, there is nothing that is more important to me than to settle that she chose the wrong woman to mess with."

"You really got more aggressive since the war," Phil complained.

"Brother, we have 1924 now and we are both thirty-two now. And so I want to remind you of something I said when we were still kids: I reinvent myself every four years. Now, it's the time again."

"You are worse than that singer," Phil groaned as he wrapped one arm around her.*

"Once in four years isn't that bad," Jade said as she wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "And really, I feel great, now. I believe that after so many years, I finally got to the point where I could let go of everything. Finally, I can think back without any regrets. I always wanted to get this far … and isn't it ironic that a war made me realise what I should have realised a long time ago?"

"Their deaths in the shape and form they happened as the result of many little decisions and none of us had a chance to know what would happen," Charlotte said calmly because she had blamed herself as well because she had been the one who had let them go.

"A chain of events caused this disaster in the end," Phil agreed. "It is hard to find someone who is really to blame for this … and if we really need one to blame, we should blame it on the guy who took my hand as a little souvenir. I really wonder how Nerissa fought him and survived in one piece."

"Well, she is the one who was born lucky," Charlotte said with a smile. "And maybe her luck didn't run out while she was facing this … despicable creature who dared to hurt my son."

"Sorry for stealing your luck when we were born, brother," Jade said as she kissed her brother's cheek. "Well, I am going to bother Roy a little bit, alright?"

Charlotte and Phil shook their heads as they watched her skipping away with a wide grin on her face.

"I really haven't seen her like this since Lynn died," the man said softly. "In more than ten long years, she wasn't that carefree. And knowing Jade, she's going to take back every single moment of her youth she wasted with useless grief and pointless guilt."

"Maybe it's time for you to let go properly as well," Charlotte suggested calmly. "She is going to drag you out of your corner of guilt anyway … and I would prefer it if you would leave it at your own accord. She is on such a good way right now … it might throw her back again."

"Well, once I get Vicky to take care of my hand, I will be on an even better way," Phil grinned.

"I don't like this grin, Philippe," his old boss said with a deep frown on her forehead.

He stepped away from her a few steps and raised his steel fist as he turned around. "Jade and I, we live by the same motto," he said determinate as usual. "Whatever goes once, goes a second time as well … and as long as something goes, it will never be the end. And that gives us new hope whenever we fail."

"You and her … you might not be the best ones out there and maybe I was right when I said that the two of you meant trouble when you first came to my headquarters … but you do things your own way and at your own pace … and maybe, this is enough," the woman said with a soft smile. "So one thing for you to remember: if you let me down now, I will come and haunt you for the rest of your life. I am going to bet on Jade and you for this competition. So don't let me down."

"Jade and I are the best team out there," Phil grinned. "Don't you dare to count us out before we even got the chance to get started, alright? I just wish we could get back one more time and restart where I lost myself and ruined the awesome flow we had back then. And yet … no matter what, we can never get enough from this whole thing. Just stand back and watch us shine, boss."

"I kinda never doubted that I would never regret meeting the two of you," Charlotte said. "And right now, you get the chance to make up for a few mistakes, Philippe. I would be disappointed to see one of you on the last place again, you know?"

* * *

Abigail was calm and collected as usual as she took place in Roy's office. It had been a while since she had seen her nephew and she noticed with worry that he was thinner than she remembered him. She sighed inwardly. Roy and Jade had always lost weight when they were unhappy or stressed by something. They were too much like Izumi in that point. Abigail's youngest sister had always had a tendency to lose weight before exams. And if the Air Alchemist remembered correctly, some of Jade's and Roy's old friends had done the same thing. Maybe it was the way the young people dealt with their problems but Abigail couldn't understand it. When she was stressed, she usually ate more than she should … especially white chocolate.

"Abigail, the reason why I asked you to come here before you return to Barley is that Serena led a new investigation regarding my parents' death," Roy said softly. "It is hard to say for me … but you were right, all these years ago. It wasn't an accident. It was murder."

For a moment, perfect silence reigned in the office before Abigail's eyes closed and a single tear ran down her cheek. "I … I hate being right," she whispered as she wiped away the tear. "I hate to be right because I am always right when I hope to be wrong. When I thought for a moment that my mother might die from her illness, she died four weeks later." She punched the smooth surface of the desk in front of her and the whole room shook. "I have to thank you for being honest with me, Roy, but you can maybe understand … that this is another dark day for me."

He nodded. "I knew," he said softly. And yes, he had known that his aunt would take it far harder than him. Abigail had been his father's twin and his best friend. That it had been her car in which he had died had always been hard on her and to hear now that her theory that she might have unintentionally caused her brother's death had been right from second one, he had expected her to freak out. But then again, she was tired and wary after all the months in the desert and she probably didn't have the power to freak out on him. He was happy about this because it would have bothered him greatly to need a new office – again since Catherina D'Artagan had ruined it once before as she had heard that he hadn't made sure that Nerissa would stay away from the battlefield which she hadn't. The chancellor had been surprised at the expertise at destroying offices she had displayed but then again, she was known for her short temper when it came to her family. And finally, Roy had also understood why his old idol, the Element Alchemist called Peter Hamilton, had never talked back when his wife had wanted something. It would have been suicide.

"It's good that you know," Abigail said and her voice was strangely calm. It was easy to guess that she was holding back because Abigail was known for the fact that she never cried in public or outside her own room. It was often complicated because she had been called Black Sister after she hadn't cried at her twin's funeral but her father had taken care of this by mentioning that the lack of tears didn't equal a lack of emotions and that his daughter was still trying to understand what had happened to her brother.

* * *

"The jackets are pretty," Laila stated as she threw herself onto Victoria's bed and sighed lazily. "Your room is far colder than mine, Vicky. I guess I will move in with you and since Nick complained about the heat as well, we can live together soon – just like we always planned to when we were kids."

The red-haired girl turned around and smirked before she mentioned towards the closed windows. "Unlike you two, I kept the windows shut after I heard that it would get this hot today," she replied amused. "So it doesn't surprise me that you are complaining about the heat while I am cool with this."

"Try going into my room and say that again," Nick said as he collapsed on the floor. "Now I know why most people left the town as soon as it was save outside of the walls again. This town is a real sauna and I just want to cool down."

"We could always go swimming," Victoria shrugged. "Min Li is probably in the Aquarium as well and Owen wanted to go there later as well since in the Llewellyn-building the air conditioner is broken."

"Again?" Laila shuddered despite the heat. "Dad will be murderous when he gets home today. His office is on the southern side of the building after all…"

"Owen said that some of the women are coming to work in summer dresses by now because you can't stand the heat in your normal clothes," Nick nodded. He got along very well with his sister's boyfriend and the last time he had seen the older male, he had admired Owen's way of working in his formal clothes in spite of the murderous heat. "I can't even think of going out in that weather."

"It's summer, guys. Summer is supposed to be hot!" Laila said as she grabbed the fan from Victoria's nightstand. "Pretty thing, new?" she asked.

"Min Li gave it to me since she has more than she could ever use," Victoria replied while she grabbed a pen to pin up her hair. "Well, are we going swimming? Min Li said that the air conditioner there is working very well."

"Cai said the same thing," Laila said as she got up.

"Great," Nick said. "So, we should maybe go swimming and cool down a bit."

"I really hope that the weather gets colder soon," Victoria said as she got up from her chair and walked over to her closet. "I prefer the winter when everything is cold and white. It's the more rational time of the year if you ask me."

"You are a strange girl," Laila sighed as she looked at the younger girl. "To associate the winter with rationality surely takes something from you."

"Well, I have the brain to say things like this," Victoria said. "I prefer the winter for my studies to tell the truth. It's better than the heat of the summer. You can wrap yourself into a blanket, drink some tea and read."

"You were always a very strange person in my eyes," the blonde said. "How can you say that you rather spend time in the cold of the winter?"

"Unlike you and Nick, I am a water alchemist. And do you remember what grandfather always says about alchemists who work with elements?"

"That they are just like the elements they mastered," Nick said with a faint smile on his face. "And as I remember from my lessons … there is nothing softer and weaker than water and still, there is nothing better for attacking the hard and strong things. And for this reason, you cannot replace it."

"Water usually wins," Laila agreed. "It lets fire die, carries away the earth and remains untouched by the wind. It fits that you chose this element. Earth would have been too steady and too hard for you … wind would have been too flexible and never tangible enough to go well with your character … and fire would have been too destructive and too passionate for you."

"Interesting how you see it," Victoria muttered as she turned around to face her siblings again. "Some members of the league called me a fool for wasting my potential with water alchemy when I could have chosen the fire."

"You **are** fire," Nick said softly as he looked at her. "Your hair wasn't the only reason why you were nicknamed the Burning Girl. You carry enough flames in your heart to burn down whole Amestris. That you chose water shows that you aren't foolish enough to decide to take power at any cost."

"Nice that you keep me going like this," his twin smiled as she grabbed her bag. "Anyway, when we want to meet Min-Min, we should hurry up."

"Aren't you a bossy little girl?" Laila chuckled.

"That is the reason why you never got to order me around, Laila," the red-haired girl laughed. "And honestly, I believe that it is the best for everyone that none of us can say that she has the right to order the other around."

* * *

After challenging Jade, Nerissa had hurried to the Aquarium, the swimming pool where the important competitions took place, and after changing into her dark blue bathing suit, she threw herself into the cool water. In her youth, she had been a good swimmer but time had brought many injuries and it had taken a long time until she had had the courage to show this much skin because of the nasty scars that traced her body. A part of her was smiling as she enjoyed the way the water felt around her. Once about a time, Kay had been the one who had dominated every single swimming competition in the eastern area – but only because a certain black-haired nuisance had started in the western part of the country. Still, Nerissa intended to keep this part of her sister alive.

It was strange, she mused. She was getting older with every passing day and she started to feel how her age caught up with her because the injuries had slowed her down. Scars and wrinkles had painted a lively picture of her past and her personality onto her skin and looking back, she wished that she had known that even the things that had seemed so strong would be gone one day. She wished that she had taken the chance to make her peace with Kay before the younger one had died because before the day Nerissa had snapped and tried to murder her younger twin, they had been close. Never as close as Nerissa and Serena or Kay and Riza but they had been close, somehow. And maybe, if the blonde had been able to swallow her pride, she could have called Kay and maybe, they could have returned to 1895 when everything had been easy because it had been a summer where everything had been perfect.

Nerissa scoffed at her own nostalgia and yet, she wished that she was sober. She had never been one to drink because it affected her aim in a bad way but while she had stayed away from alcohol, she had never been truly sober from her dark and sometimes slightly depressive thoughts. And maybe, if she would ever manage to get sober from this, she would see that the rain was gone, that it had been gone since a long time. And yet, despite the fact that it was over and there would never be a chance to restart the whole thing to get it right in a second attempt, her memory still played the summer hit of the year 1895.

And though many years had passed since those summer days, Nerissa would always sit on the roof with Kay, listening to the music and singing along with the song because it had been such a great tune.

_I had hoped you'd see my face  
and that you'd be reminded that for me it isn't over*_

* * *

During her training in Xing, Min Li had discovered her talent and her passion for swimming. It had been more of a coincidence since usually, swimming was no part of the training but after an especially exhausting and frustrating day of weapons training, she had jumped into the lake close to her village and while she had relaxed, she had found out that she really liked swimming. And now since she lived in Amestris, she had spent a lot of time in the so-called Aquarium which was five minutes away from her house and so she was there before the heat had worn her out completely. And she loved it. She really loved it because once her fingertips touched the water, she relaxed and to relax was exactly the right thing for her to do because the pressure she had at the university was killing her at times but then again, she had chosen this way and she had known that it would be hard. She studied law along with Nick and sometimes, she wondered how Victoria could deal with all her duties at once before she remembered that her red-haired friend had never done anything else.

"Min Li!" Cai yelled as she reappeared after touching the ground. "The other are here. So we can finally have the race between Vicky and you!"

The red-haired girl rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms. "Cai, as I said before: I can accept the fact that I have nothing on Min Li in the water. She is a faster and better swimmer than me and I won't humiliate myself in this race."

"Well, we are three boy and four girls…" Elicia smirked. "And since you are all such good sportsman, we could make a race boys against girls."

"That would be unfair," Nick protested weakly against his girlfriend's opinion. "It is more or less impossible for us to win against you because the four of you are like … mermaids. You have advantage in water because you all swim better."

"He is right, no matter how much it hate to admit this," Cai nodded. "We would lose and just like Vicky, I refuse to humiliate myself by losing against you. The only one who has a realistic chance to beat any of you at any time would be Owen and he can't swim against all of you."

"True," the oldest boy nodded seriously as always. "But I am not against this. if Min Li swims with her arms on her back, she doesn't have this much of an advantage and it might be nearly fair for us. And I could swim first and last."

"Well, this is the spirit," Elicia smiled. "I think this sounds like a deal, right?"

"I am in," Nick sighed while he glared at the slightly younger girl. "But Min Li really has to keep her hands on her back. Everything else would be unfair."

"That's true," Laila agreed. "She's in the water what Victoria is at athletics: a real monster … and it would be unfair to you to be matched against her."

"It's one of the few things I am really good at," Min Li smirked as she stretched. "And before you get too worried: I am starting for Amestris at the competitions since Xing has no swimming team and since I don't want to fight any of you."

"Seriously?" Victoria asked with wide eyes. "That means … we can share a room in the team hotel, can't we? Laila already shares with Elicia and I didn't want to have a roommate I can't stand."

"You are participating in the competitions as well, Laila?" Owen asked.

"I qualified myself for the archery competition," she said as she gracefully shot an invisible arrow at the ceiling. "And Elicia managed to get qualified for gymnastics … and since Nick's football team somehow got qualified as well, we will be all a part of this competition."

"We worked hard for this qualification," Nick scoffed. "You make it sound like we got in on luck … but we really worked hard for this … and we are proud that we made it this far … and I am proud of my team as well. You, Vicky and nearly everyone else got in because of the work of a single person, Laila, but we had to work as a team even though we usually argue…"

"That's the reason why I prefer to fight alone or in small teams," Victoria said and acted as if she was shuddering. "I would hate to depend on other people … imagine that my qualification would depend on whatever someone like our dear friend Jacqueline is doing. I would throw a fit."

"We would throw it together," Cai sighed. While Victoria was an all-rounder and good at nearly everything on the wide field of athletics she tried (which was why she had been qualified for nearly every competition), Cai who was equally talented had specialised himself on high jump, 5000 metres and 4 x 400 relay.

"Probably, yeah," Min Li smirked as she stretched. "Anyway, Elicia and Laila, you would be able to get a qualification for 4 x 100 relay freestyle along with Tori and me, wouldn't you? We heard that the Drachman quartet is quite good but we wanted to go for a good fight and maybe even a medal."

"Speaking of medals," Owen said. "Did you already hear of the strange challenge Miss Jade and Nerissa have going on? Who gets more medals will win."

"Well…" Nick and Laila exchanged a quick gaze. "Vicky will beat them both."

"True enough," Cai smirked. "Let me calculate, alright? Heptathlon … one. Eight hundred metres … two. High jump … three. Four hundred metres hurdles … four. The swimming thing Min Li is planning … five. Maybe four hundred metres flat … six. And the other swimming things … nine or ten."

"You forgot about 4 x 200 and 4 x 400 relay," Nick threw in. "Eleven or twelve."

"Guys … I could still get injured in the first competition and fail to get a single one," Victoria sighed. "Just because I got the qualification without any trouble and just because I am the Amestrian master at most of these things at the moment, it doesn't mean that I will bring home all the medals you expect me to."

"This time, it is all different," Laila said cheerfully.

"Yeah," Owen agreed.

"This time, everyone of us wants to win," Elicia said. "There won't be any half things. We will do it – or we won't even try … the time where half things were acceptable is over. Either we make it … or we die trying."

"The boss has spoken," Victoria grinned.

* * *

Maybe the reason why Victoria and Min Li got along this well was that they shared a fate.

No matter what had happened to them, everyone viewed them as lucky. The fact that they had both grown up without their real parents didn't matter much to their admirers. And that left them both in a trap they couldn't get out off when they were alone. When they woke up, the first thing they always did was to brush their hair because they could never know where the next photographer was waiting for them. In a way, they both were the stars of a show they didn't want to be in. Everyone called them lovely and talented yet no one had ever given them the chance to prove their skills in public.

Yes, they were both part of the youngest members of the League of Alchemists and Alkahestry users but this was a secret club and therefore, they couldn't mention this in public. And yet, everyone dared to call them lucky. What the hell was 'lucky' about growing up in loneliness and the feeling that the own mother might have abandoned her like in Min Li's case? And what was supposed to be 'lucky' about nearly dying from an illness at the age of ten and being orphaned at the age of four like in Victoria's case? How were they supposed to be the lucky ones when they had cried at night for many years?

And yet, there they stood after so many years, after so much pain. Finally, they got the chance to prove that what the others called 'being lucky' was nothing but hard work, burning ambition and the will to keep going even when it hurt.

"Miss Wei, Miss Hamilton, you are both starting at the Alliance Championships, right?" a reporter asked. "Aren't you worried that losing could ruin your image in public?"

Min Li laughed thinly as she looked at the man. "We came too far to lose it now," she said as she smiled grimly. "And why should we lose? That's simply not our style."

"She's right and it kinda insults me that you are thinking that I might lose," the red-haired girl said in agreement. "I want to remind you that I am the current Amestrian Master of my age group … and yet, this time, I am aiming for Amestrian record."

"The Amestrian record is still held by Helena Hamilton, your late mother, correct? And no one has even come close to breaking it in the last eighteen years…" the man said with a frown.

"I know," Laila said as she leaned forward. "And Vicky knows it as well … but who would she be if she wouldn't aim for the top? Don't forget about the way we deal with challenges: we accept them."

"Laila is right," Victoria said. "When I enter the stadium, I come to win. I would stay at home if I wouldn't want to win. I want to win to remind this country that there is nothing 'lucky' about me."

"But you are known to be lucky, Miss Hamilton," another reporter said kindly. "You have everything you want in your life, don't you? I would call this lucky."

"Well, I don't," she replied.

"Whatever we are, we became with hard work," Laila agreed. "To call us lucky means to call us cheaters … and we didn't cheat. We worked as hard as everyone else … if not even harder."

"Miss Wei, you decided to start for Amestris instead of for Xing, why?"

"Amestris has a swim team – Xing doesn't. Is that sufficient as an explanation?" Min Li smirked. "And before you can ask me: I believe that Jade Mustang will win more medals than Nerissa Hawkeye. Jade has the ultimate ambition and sadly, Nerissa hasn't anything on this."

"You are getting mean again, Min-Min," Laila said amused. "Well, but I have to admit that I see it the same way. For Jade, this means the chance to avenge everything. And knowing her, she would never think twice before she takes such a great chance."

"I'm not saying that Jade is going to wipe the floor with Nerissa but … this thing will show that Jade was never out of the game." Victoria smiled shyly. "There are things Jade just cannot tolerate."

* * *

"This is madness, don't you think so?" Roy asked as he watched how his three oldest children left the house for another training. "They are so young…"

"Lynn wasn't older when she instated her records," Riza said calmly.

"Yeah … but I can remember that she or Kay were ever that willing to train until everything hurts," he sighed. "And they liked their candies far too much to ignore them while they trained for a competition. Laila ignored the chocolate I left on the kitchen table for her to eat because Nick somewhere read that vitamins are necessary for athletes. And Vicky is hardly at home. Either she hangs around in the Aquarium like Nerissa told me or she is in the stadium."

"At least they stopped complaining about the heat all the time," Riza said. "I know that you are worried but Laila is already fifteen and the twins will be fifteen next months, shortly before the competitions start. Jade inquired if you could imagine to be her tennis partner. She is out for Nerissa's blood."

"You are taking this far too relaxed, Rize," he said. "Don't you miss them now more than usually? Lynn and Kay would both participate if they were still here."

"Charles and Martin as well," the blond woman smirked. "Edward was mad because he isn't allowed to participate. Someone decided that his automail would be an unfair advantage for him … and he nearly killed Phil because a hand made of steel is obviously not as much of an advantage."

"Please don't tell me that they were seen when they tried to beat the living daylights out of each other," Roy groaned. "II won't go out if they were seen. Do they think that I'd like to explain the press why they do things like this?"

"Don't worry, Rebecca already took care of this," Riza said before she took a water bottle from the table. "Well, I will be on my way now as well. See you later – don't wait for me with the dinner. I will be home late tonight."

"Don't tell me that you are qualified as well," her husband sighed.

"Did you forget? There isn't a team for synchronised diving from the three metres springboard like Rena and me," she grinned. "We were east-Amestrian masters at a point and we want to get back that title. Well, and I decided against a shooting competition because grandmother and Rebecca entered as well and I wanted to give them a chance. And since the government has summer break, we can afford this. Serena has already an idea for our presentation."

"You do know that you haven't done this in … fifteen years?"

"Five years, technically, and I feel better than ever before. Don't worry."

"I just don't know why I should cook when everyone is training today."

"I told you that Jade looks for a tennis partner. She talked me into being her partner for the female double but she wants to play mixed as well and she doesn't want to rely on Phil for everything," Riza shrugged.

Roy leaned back. "We used to be a great double back in the days," he said with a smirk. "Maybe we should return to our old greatness once more. I can win nothing in my old athletic disciplines because Cai is younger and faster … but Jade and I … that was something…"

"And from what I heard, no one too young will be your opponent."

"I guess I will give it another try. Thanks for telling me."

* * *

Everything hurt and Victoria collapsed onto the ground, holding her sides while tears of pain ran down her face. "I can't anymore," she whispered. "It hurts too much … but I just can't give up that easily."

Cai who wasn't in a better shape panted. "But we've to get back up and continue our training," he tried to argue. "I know, the sunburn you caught yesterday doesn't make it easier for you … but try to think of the way you will feel once we won the first few medals for Amestris, alright?"

"Why are you even starting for Amestris?" she asked as she sat up and opened her water bottle before she emptied it over her own head.

"I've lived the longest part of my life here," he replied. "And the only reason why Jun-Jun is loyal to Xing is that it would look bad on her file to start for Amestris since she just was reinstated and everything."

"Good to know," the red-haired girl said as she forced herself to get back up. "I think that I complained enough … so, back to work."

"I really wonder how you can be still that pale," he said as he followed her to the coach who was currently torturing them under the bright sun.

"It's because I was always pale," she said. "My mother was pale as well."

* * *

Owen looked to the side where Min Li was clinging to the edge of the pool. "You should take a break," he said. "You are exhausted."

"I can't," she replied as she tried to force more air into her lungs. "I need to work harder on my times. If I rest now … there will someone come and take my medal … and I am far too ambitious to allow this."

"Don't blame it on me when you will overwork yourself," he sighed.

"Don't worry – after the training I got in Xing, this is nothing," she said. "I am just a little bit exhausted because all of this … it has been a long time that I trained properly for anything. And to be honest, I like the way everything hurts because it means that I am really doing something. It shows that there is progress. I tend to imagine that my body is a house that I am building. And when everything hurts after I was the whole day in the water, I know that the house will be ready when the competition starts. And that makes me happy."

"I always thought that houses were Cai's and Laila's stuff, Miss Future Lawyer."

"Well, I couldn't plan what they are planning," she admitted. "Maybe it's the best for us that everyone is doing something different, State Alchemist Johnson."

* * *

"…Catherina," Peter sighed as he entered the living room where his wife was still stretching. "Don't you think that you work a little bit too much? Even Nerissa is busier with preparing the swimming contest than her martial art competition – and you know that she has this stupid bet with the Mustang-girl. Don't you think that you already worked hard enough?"

She chuckled. "The martial art competition is the only one I take part in," she said with a smirk. "And unlike Nerissa or Jun Li, I won't underestimate how much this will take from them. They believe that they already won this just because they are both more or less unbeaten in the last few years – at least in the files because we both know that I can wipe the floor with Nessa whenever I feel like this. She seemed to forget about this which is probably the reason why she challenged the Mustang-girl to this stupid contest. I look forward to remind her of her standing … and that there is no one who cannot be defeated."

* * *

"May I ask what you are currently training?" Abigail asked as she entered her husband's study where the rest of her family was sitting on the floor.

"Martial Arts," Alain replied with closed eyes. "Technically, Jade should win it in her weight class because neither Nerissa nor Jun Li or Catherina are in there but we need to work at her mental strength."

"The point is that Jade will have hardly a competition where she has to fight Nerissa face-to-face," Phil added. "And in the few cases where she will have to fight her directly for a medal, she has always a slight advantage … and the only thing that might ruin it are her nerves."

"Can I get another orange?" Jade asked. "I haven't had one in weeks."

"You will get more oranges than you can eat once you won the challenge," her mother said. "I've nothing against Nerissa but you are a fighter and that means that you should avenge the defeat you had to suffer."

"You are on," the minister of science darkly. "And if I was you, I would already buy the oranges, mother, because I won't let her get away a second time."

* * *

Elicia landed safely on both feet and smiled at her coach who was nodding. The brunette was maybe not as ambitious as Victoria or Min Li but just like Laila, she had a point to prove and because of this, she suffered willingly in the hot gymnasium of her old school where Maria Ross was currently preparing herself for the uneven bars where she had good chances to win since some of the other candidates had been taken out of the competition because they had taken medicine to improve their stamina and therefore their performance.

"Good work today, Elicia," the coach said. "You can take a break now before I have your father in my office again, complaining that I let you work too hard."

The girl sighed. "I told him not to do this again," she muttered under her breath.

"It is kinda cute, how much he worries about you," the coach smiled. "Anyway, I really don't want any trouble with the government and the chancellor's best friend and therefore, you will have to take this break, Elicia."

"Are you mad at me for participating in this swimming thing?"

"No, I would have wished that you could concentrate better on the floor contest but frankly, I was young once as well and to say no to a friend is always hard … especially when everyone else says yes," the coach said calmly. "And even if it won't work out properly … it won't be your last great event and should you don't make it this time, there will be a next chance for you to win."

"We want to win as many medals as possible," Elicia grinned. "I won't let you down, I promise."

* * *

Jun Li felt tired and yet, she remained on her feet. Just like everyone else, she used the break between the war and the sport event which would be hosted by Amestris to train for it. She had seen her chance to get a medal in the martial arts competition because for a Xingese, she was unusually heavy because of her muscles. Unlike most others, she relied more on her strength than onto her speed and the fact that she had hardly lost a fight proved her right. And there she was: sweating in the sun and close to giving up but just like everyone else who was training, she tried to ignore it because in the end, it wasn't that unlikely that it wouldn't be much cooler during the event.

"Cold black tea for you," Chen Bo said as he stepped into the dojo where Jun Li was punching the walls.

"Thanks," she said as she allowed herself to relax for a moment. "It's really hot right now."

"In my youth, we used the weeks without duty to train in the desert … therefore, it doesn't bother me as much as it bothers you," the old man said with a smile. "Min Li participates in a martial arts competition as well, doesn't she? I haven't seen her training for it though."

"According to her, the others in her weight class are ridiculously weak," Jun Li shrugged as she removed the bandages around her forearms. "I need new ones, I fear."

* * *

Bea landed on her back and unlike before, she didn't show her pain. In her childhood, she would have been crying by now but now, she got back up. She had learned and while she had been a weakling as a child, she had learned to deal with the pain and as she stood again, she nodded at Claudio who held out her sabre. "I didn't mean to fall," she said, mad at herself for being this weak.

"No big deal … just get back up again," he smiled. "You used to be so good before, Beatrice."

"I haven't fought like this in a long time," she admitted. "But I will relearn it, I promise."

"Sure thing," he winked. "Let's try again, alright?"

* * *

*Hundred points for the one who figures out which real life singer I am hinting at.

*Adele's 'Someone like you' in 1895 :) makes no sense but still. I needed something that made sense and since it was on the radio, I considered this as fate


	17. 181: A Stalker?

**A Stalker?**

* * *

Riza knew that something was wrong the second Nerissa entered her study and locked the door behind her. While it was normal for Nerissa to be extremely careful, she was never paranoid. And to see her like this had to be something extremely serious and for a moment, the first lady wondered if she had had enough coffee at the breakfast table to deal with this.

"Riza, did you get a bouquet of flowers yesterday as well?" the older woman asked once she had taken place on the edge of the desk. Chairs were meant for normal people, not for someone like her.

"No," Riza replied as she frowned at her cousin. "What kind of flowers, Nessa?"

"Fire lilies." The woman in blue and gold covered her face with her right hand. "You see?"

"Those are your favourite flowers but you'd never admit it to anyone outside the family or Miles…"

"And I already called him. He didn't send them … now I worry that I may have some stalker. I have seen what can happen when a stalker loses his nerves," she said as she thought of the deep scar on Phil's forearm which had been the result of a fight with Jade's infamous stalker.

"Fire lilies … no one would give a woman fire lilies for no reason," Riza stated calmly. "They are not the best flowers to give as a confession to use an example because not everyone likes them. Red roses – no matter how sappy – would have been the safer path there. Who does or did know that you like them?"

"My father, your father, Catherina, Kay, Lynn, Serena, Miles, you and probably the kids because Laila commented on the fire lilies on my desk in the office last week," Nerissa said.

"Your dad hates to give flowers as a present, my dad is dead, Catherina would have said something, Kay and Lynn are gone as well, Serena is like your father in that aspect, Miles already said that he didn't send the flowers and the kids are far too busy to do stuff like this," the first lady stated. "So this leaves the mysterious stranger as the one who send you the flowers."

"This isn't everything," Nerissa said darkly. "I went home to the manor this weekend. So I also visited your parents' graves. Fresh roses were on your mother's grave, her favourites. And so I suddenly start to think that some insider is out to freak me out."

"You are worried that someone might know too much about the family?" Riza asked. "Usually, I would say that flowers are no reason to worry this much but … mother's favourite flowers were known by maybe six people and just the two of us are still alive."

"This reminds me of something Kay used to say when we were still kids and everything was easier," the older blonde said as she stepped over to the window. "She once counted all the members of the family who faked their own death in order to avoid something. And therefore I am kinda worrying that someone we believe dead might be still out there. You see, Serena faked her death because she needed time to deal with something. Das doesn't count because he isn't a Hawkeye." Nerissa nervously toyed around with the buttons of her light jacket – a habit she had copied from Lynn who had been very shy in her early childhood. "The last thing I want would be mommy dear running around out there."

Riza could merely nod. She had hated Reine Hawkeye with the same passion everyone else had hated her and just like Kay, she had once written a letter she had never send. She could effortlessly see why Nerissa felt great even without her mother running around in freedom. Reine had been a dangerous and extremely skilled alchemist who had often abused this power and therefore, the whole family had been relived when the woman had died. "I saw the body," Riza said calmly. "I was the one who had to identify the body and I am absolutely sure that this cursed woman is completely dead."

* * *

_Dear Reine,  
Chances are high that you still remember me but just in case that your 'infallible memory' might have left you along with your sanity, it is I, your only niece. You might still see me standing in the doorway and staring at you while you did what you did best, researching._

_I know that I was a failure in your eyes as the only member of the family who showed no interest in alchemy. I know, however, that my father was happy when I never cared much about that stuff because unlike you, he had realised what such power could do to another person. You are probably wondering where your 'baby brother' received such wisdom. Well, while you were too blind to realise that your sanity has turned its back at you a long time ago, he saw, knew and suffered. And because I knew that he feared that one of us might lose control the same way you lost it, dearest aunt, I stayed away from it. As you know, it wasn't because of a lack of talent that I never joined your daughters while they studied harder than most people. It was also not because I was afraid that I might die the same way my mother died. No, Healing Alchemy wouldn't have been mine, I guess. I would have been more interested in the water alchemy you perfected and that your daughters shunned because of you. Ironic, isn't it? The only one of us who would have taken it is also the only one who stayed away from the whole issue. I bet that my father is laughing wherever he might be now. He would have appreciated this irony._

* * *

"Did you poke her to make sure?" Nerissa asked with a perfect poker face.

"I wanted but they didn't allow me to touch her," Riza said with a shrug.

"Honestly?" her cousin asked in wide-eyed shock.

"Of course not because it was pretty obvious that she was dead," the first lady smirked. "I can't believe that you really thought for a second that I was serious about this, Nessa."

"I thought that some of Kay's screw-the-rules-attitude might have gotten into you," Nerissa said. "Well, damn. Now I can't be sure and will be dreaming of mother dearest coming after me for month."

"If it lets you sleep better: a hole in the lungs bigger than my hand probably qualifies as physical damage which excludes the probability that the person is still alive or however they say it in the official reports," Riza said with a faint smile. "Still, while we can be sure that your mother isn't the creepy flower guy, we still to find the one."

"Someone who knows all our favourites," Nerissa said darkly. "In Lynn's old rooms were those black roses, in Kay's I found lavender and in your old room was a bouquet of roses in all colours. I didn't check Serena's room because it was a sealed again but the smell suggested white lilies."

"That makes it even stranger, you know?"

"And it narrows down the list of potential flower-guys," the blue-eyed woman muttered. "Either you, me, a member of the old gang you and the others had or … your father."

"And he is dead as you know," Riza said quietly. She knew that Nerissa had been relatively close to him even after her departure from the manor and she had heard from Catherina how hard the news that Berthold had passed on had been for the disowned former heir of the family.

* * *

_Speaking of your daughters, I just want you to know that you managed to ruin them thoroughly. I am nearly sure that you are celebrating these news in Hell where you surely ended up after all you have done – and I am not even thinking of the deaths you caused because this was in the name of the government and I am just as bad when it comes to this._

_No, I think of the way you managed to destroy your own daughters and believe me, I am still trying to pick up the pieces you shattered Serena into with your unique way of ruining lives. But while Lynn and Kay were lucky even though they died far too young, I still believe that you ruined no one as badly as you ruined Nerissa. When I think back and remember what dad said about her, the cousin I hardly got to know because of you, he always said that she was a soft-spoken and kind little girl … and seeing her today, I believe him. He described her as diligent and passionate, a small genius with a bright and wonderful future. He told me how he always hoped that she might return one day because she would have been a worthy heir to the flame alchemy._

_But thanks to you, the silent and studious girl was twisted into something else, something I used to be afraid of. For a long time, Nerissa seemed to be the perfect example for an alchemist who had went too far and who lost everything along this way. But it wasn't her fault. She was never to blame because you took her innocence and made her an ice-cold fighter. In the depths of her soul, Nerissa is still the same little girl she was before she turned against Kay. (Another thing you are to blame for: you made two sisters turn against each other. Well done, honestly.)_

* * *

"His death came at a time that was awfully convenient, you know?" Nerissa muttered as she wiped away a stray tear that had escaped her usually well-guarded dams. "Two weeks later and the military would have had a law that would have forced him to fight in Ishbal. And neither your dad nor my sister were dumb or something. And when I saw him the last time before he died, maybe three weeks before, he seemed absolutely fine to me – and I may not be Lynn but I still have an eye for things like this."

"Three days before his death, he was already extremely sick and drove with the train to Central to find a better doctor," Riza said slowly. "Lynn went with him because Kay and I had already plans."

"If I may…" Nerissa gulped. "Of all people I've ever met, I met only one who matched my mother when it came to cunningness and playing really dirty without being caught. And this only person was Lynn. Did you ever wonder why mother accepted her as her heir after Kay was disowned? Most people would have thought that mother dearest would finally show some mercy and call me home but she didn't. She was even awfully happy with Lynn who was supposedly the weakest among us as heir – and you can't forget about the way my most honourable mother always favoured the strong," the woman with the blue jacket spat. "And so I believe that if anyone might stage a death it would have been Lynn. I mean … remember how many people owed her favours. She could have had _everything_."

Riza had to admit that Nerissa was probably right but still, she had seen the dead body. On the other hand … no matter how good Lynn had been with the whole medicine stuff after 1908, she had been still a beginner when her father had died. Still, even as a teenager, Lynn had had the uncanny ability to get whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. No matter how rare the book had been – when Lynn had wanted it, she had gotten it in mere days.

"I read the letter you wrote my mother some weeks ago," Nerissa said softly. "You stated that there was no way to do it without Lynn … and I think that you are right. For dangerous things you need a healer – especially when the whole issue bases on destroying a whole back," she added in a whisper.

Riza merely managed to nod. It still hurt. She had thought that it would stop one day but it hadn't stopped and somehow she feared that it would never do.

* * *

_I never wanted to hate another member of the family because my father taught me that family is one of the most precious things in this world – too bad that you ruined him as well, dearest aunt. While you were the one who stained Kay's back with the madness you called Water Alchemy, he asked me if I was willing to carry his legacy on my back when his health was worsening and we knew that his time was running out. I decided to do this for him because I didn't want him to be forgotten – and because somehow, I felt like I owed the family to preserve this at least since I would never add anything to our knowledge. Even after the war when I asked my husband to remove a part of it, I never regretted this decision._

_Unlike Kay because she hated her tattoo more than anything and it shouldn't surprise you that she talked Lynn and me into another stupid thing once you finally let us alone and went from fighting in wars to pushing up daisies. (You might remember that Lynn loved this expression.) Well, we removed the tattoo from Kay's back. It was a long and extremely painful thing for her and I was close to crying because I always hated to see her in pain but Lynn and I knew both that Kay would never be happy with this mark on her back. It was terrible because the only way to remove it permanently was to take away the skin from Kay's back. (Maybe you realise now why we couldn't ask Serena to join us. Even though she has a higher tolerance than Nerissa, she still would have fainted. This is the reason why it was always Kay, Lynn and me who did the bloody and extremely dangerous things.) Anyway, Kay and I would have preferred to do this without her but we needed Lynn's ability to close wounds – or Kay would have died from blood loss. Do not worry, dearest aunt, we properly sedated Kay before we ripped off the tattoo. I will never forget this day because the blood was simply everywhere. I have to admit that you were a genius but that's the only thing you have in common with the rest of the family._

* * *

"We … we didn't want to do this," Riza whispered. "Especially I didn't want to hurt her this badly but you know how Kay was when she wanted something. We somehow got painkillers we gave her before we started but … she was crazy when she asked us to remove everything. It nearly killed her off."

"Why did she even want to get rid of everything? Wouldn't it have been better to remove just the essential part of this manuscript?" Nerissa asked carefully.

"Kay said that no matter how much it would hurt, she had to destroy this copy of the original manuscript completely," Riza said. "Lynn cried when she heard what she had to do. To remove so much skin in a go could have easily killed Kay but she was stubborn and wanted to do it this way. Anyway, when I decided that I wanted to set myself free as well, I knew that I would never survive doing it the way she did it. I am no coward as you know but … the blood, you know? It was a bloody issue for all of us."

"Why did she even decide on ruining her own back by removing the tattoo? I see the way you and Rena have trouble with your backs on bad days. And Kay was smart enough to know how much such a thing would hurt," Nerissa said. "How could she risk her own life like it was nothing?"

"Kay often said that it is the genius' fate to suffer and sometimes, I think that I understood why she had to do this," Riza said. "You might remember how much she was in the whole Equivalent Exchange. For her, the deal was her back against her freedom."

* * *

_I've known true geniuses, you know? Some of them are even related to us, others came from other families and since you tried to tell us that the Hawkeye-family is the only one who can get something right, I might have been shocked when I met my cousins-in-law. Phil and Jade claim that they are no geniuses because they loathe the word (probably because they don't want to be put into the same category as someone like you) and yet, they obviously are. The thing is … none of them would ever look down on a relative just because they have no interest/talent for alchemy. And the rest of their family is just the same. By the way, Uncle Peter told me that you always said that it is a pity that Abigail Mustang was born to the 'wrong family'._

_Yeah, I know the way you used to think: being a Hawkeye is the only thing anyone could be proud of and therefore, everyone else was worthless in your eyes. Too bad that you can't see me laughing at this preposterous thing, dearest aunt, because I am sure that I look quite pathetic right now – not that I'd care, though._

_Just like my father and my cousins, I am proud to carry the name. I would be a liar to say anything else. The thing is that while we are proud, we were never arrogant. We accepted others and therefore, we made friends while you stayed a pitiful woman without any support. I am happy to say that you stayed an exception. After you, neither a Hawkeye of my generation nor a member of the following one showed the same degree of arrogance you displayed every single day in your life. It is the exact contrary, you see?_

* * *

"She took the whole exchange-issue far too serious," Nerissa muttered as she rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window. "Anyway, once this whole sport event thing is over, I am going to look out for your daddy. I've a bad feeling about the issue and knowing the guy, he is going to be somewhere close by and laughs at me … should he be still alive, that's it."

"He would have loved to meet the kids," Riza smiled as she looked at the family photograph on her desk. "He would have had so much fun with Nick and Vicky, it's really a shame."

"Yeah," Nerissa said. "I really hope that he is still alive and that I find him one day. He owes me a rematch anyway and I am pretty sure that I might win now. We used to play chess when he came to visit and sometimes, I really wished that he would have been able to stay a little bit longer."

"How likely is it that he is still out there?" Riza asked softly as she looked at the picture of her father.

"Depends," her cousin said. "I would need Lynn's little purple notebook to say something more exact. If Lynn had a doctor on the list of people who owed her a favour for something, he is probably alive. I have a pretty good theory what might have happened back then because I know something hardly anyone knows about the strict and sometimes harsh Master Berthold Hawkeye: in his youth, he was part of a drama club and according to grandmother Hawkeye, he was a pretty good actor."

"Lynn had access to a lot of interesting things as well," Riza muttered.

"That doesn't surprise me," Nerissa said drily, "Lynn's whole life consisted of interesting things and while she left the path of Water Alchemy quite early, she definitely knew how to make any liquid look like blood. I don't know what happened – but I want to get behind the whole secret."

* * *

_Since you missed the chance to meet them, I'd like to tell you something about your grandchildren and grandnieces. (To be honest, I am happy that you never met them because you might have tried to corrupt them the way you tried to corrupt Nessa.)_

_Kay's daughter which I raised is called Laila. A pretty blond girl with Charles' eyes and one of the best archers Amestris ever had. (I have the suspicion that she takes after great-aunt Helen.) Anyway, like every good little Hawkeye-girl, Laila took a liking to alchemy and while you would have thought that I would try to stop any child of mine that tries things like this, I want you to know that I even supported her since I am very proud of her._

* * *

"If there is anyone with the nerve to unravel secrets that concern our family, you are the one," Riza said. "Everyone always called me patient but you beat me – hands down."

"I am just too stubborn to give up before I managed to solve a problem. And I am used to waiting for a very long time, so the patience had to come sooner or later."

"Still, you were trained to be the heir for two years more than Vicky."

"Vicky has a natural advantage: she had a sane mother," Nerissa winked at her cousin. "And once I have nothing left to do, I am going to bury myself with work in the secret library."

"I haven't been there since I was a little kid," Riza muttered.

"We could go there together. It's in the posh estate great-uncle Albus bought hundred years ago."

"We have too many houses."

"And too many relatives."

"Any suggestions who we should take care of?" Riza asked.

"If you mean that we should scold some of them until they believe that Vicky is the best thing that ever happened to this family, I am totally in. I always wanted to tell Aunty Dora that I hate her."

* * *

_Lynn's – or Helena's because you never understood that she wanted to have a name that didn't remind her of the woman she was named after – firstborn daughter Victoria inherited Lynn-Lynn's eyes and Kay's hair as well as their tempers. She is an amazing little girl and a born leader who will remind everyone of the old values of our family one day, values you mistreated just as badly as your own children. Victoria ironically chose water alchemy but the improved version of the stuff you printed onto Kay's back. (Oh, didn't you know that Nerissa returned after twenty years and corrected your mistakes? Such a pity.) Anyway, Victoria is a fine girl and unlike you, she is completely sane and therefore, she wouldn't abuse her power._

* * *

"I haven't had contact to any of them since Kay's funeral," Riza said slowly. "Some of them were nice to deal with, even Aunty Helen. She is extremely old and hears really badly, sure, but she is in favour of everything I am doing here. Should anyone in the family try to act against Vicky, she would stop it."

"She and Uncle Albus are the only sane members of the family," Nerissa muttered with a smirk. "But I agree. When I think of Aunt Dora and her posh little gang, I feel like hiding in a dark corner and hope that they won't find me there."

"It's my corner, alright? You are older and therefore you should willingly sacrifice yourself."

* * *

_Her twin brother is called Nick and he is a fine boy.  
Yeah, I know that it is rare in our family where it is normal to have twins that it's a mixed double but they are Lynn's children and therefore they are supposed to be special, right? Nick is black-haired like this dad and has brown eyes with green sparkles. Sometimes, his eyes seem to be green and when this happens, breathing gets difficult because he remind me too much of his dad. Martin was a good friend of mine after all and it was hard for me to lose him. Anyway, dad would have loved Nick. He would have been proud of his grandson. (Did you know that he kinda claimed your daughters as his own after you got yourself killed? Kay even said that he made a far better parent than you.) Nick is so calm and friendly that it surprised me when he chose flame alchemy. I would have expected his sister to choose this but she refused. Still, while you and dad always argued, Nick and Victoria are closer than most people and I hope that it stays this way. They had enough losses for a lifetime which is why I try to stay alive now._

* * *

"In this family, the rule is that everyone looks out for herself," Nerissa said. "I refuse to let myself be ripped apart by Aunt Dora with her questionable fashion taste and her bratty crew."

Riza glared at her. The thing was that Nerissa had always seemed quite sane compared to other members of the Hawkeye-family and aforementioned Aunt Dora was – according to the few members of the family who were considered as sane – the worst person who had ever carried the name Hawkeye. Kay who had hated her with passion had compared her once with an elephant in a pink dress and a yellow fur hat. The thing was that this description was extremely precise as it should have been expected from the girl who had formed stone into statues as a hobby. Other members of the family – like Aunt Helen and Uncle Albus – were pretty much sane and therefore favourite family members along with Albus' sister Minerva who was one of the most capable members of the family – and also one of the few sane ones who could still hear without being yelled at.

"I raise the next big boss so I get extra points anyway," Riza smirked as she winked at her cousin. "But you were disowned anyway. Maybe I should talk with Vicky about reinstating you in the family…"

"Do this and I will personally make sure that Riza Hawkeye will be history next Monday, little cousin."

"What's your issue with the family anyway? Sure, they are crazy but they are sometimes really funny."

"My issue with this family is the fact that they refuse to accept that Lynn and Kay died as heroes. I mean … ninety percent of them are alchemist and therefore they know a thing or two about the idea of a homunculus. So I am extremely angry at the fact that they refuse to believe you," Nerissa said darkly. "I mean … I can deal with the fact that most civilians wouldn't believe the story but … I expected that the family that claimed to be the most intelligent for more than a century should be able to tell what is fact and what is fiction … and it's a fact that they were murdered by Envy."

"Roy said and the others who know agree that it is time to tell the truth. The parliament agreed as well."

* * *

_Well, I've got two children I gave birth to as well. Helena and Rachel are little sun shines and while I sometimes regret that they will never meet so many great people of our family, I never regret that they will never meet you because while I can say that I miss my father and my mother just as bad as I miss Lynn, Martin, Kay and Charles, I never missed you. Helena and Rachel both got my hair and their father's eyes. (Grandmother Charlotte was right when she said that the Llewellyn-blond is stubborn. All of my relatives on this side got the same blond hair and in case of Bendix, my uncle who is merely three years my senior, the hair shines brighter than the sun. It never surprised me that he had so many women running after him even though it made meeting him a little bit difficult sometimes.) I love my family and unlike you, I will never pressure one of my children to do something. You were the one who pushed Kay, Lynn and Serena to be state alchemists and all of them regretted it at one point while Nerissa who could stay away from this mess found true happiness._

* * *

Nerissa froze and stared at Riza. "As in, write a book and tell the whole story?" she asked.

"Jade already finished the rough draft and will be publishing it after the sport event. She said that she is the one most people trust and therefore, it's only right when she tells the truth first," Riza said. "She called it Shades of Purple and Green … and from what I read, it is pretty much the exact story of her live and it includes the whole story how Bradley blackmailed her into becoming his killer."

"And here I wondered where she got these awesome moves with her knife…"

"Anyway, if you don't want to stay back, you should get started, Nessa. It might help you to deal with all the issues you have regarding our family."

* * *

_You even caused everyone in this family to be afraid of power, you know? After your death, Lynn asked me if I wanted to become head of whatever is left of our once so proud and huge family – because she was afraid of what she might become once she would hold power. I gently reminded her of the fact that she was usually the best among it when it comes to dealing with power and yet, I know that she was hesitant for the whole time she was alive after this day which were merely four years because she died far too young – just like Kay and the others as well. And even Victoria who never met you (that lucky girl) is afraid of power. Hell, even I am afraid of what might I do should I ever gain a lot of power and therefore I pray that I can stay in the second row for a very long time because honestly, power doesn't make happy, right?_

_I hope this letter gives you something to think about and that you enjoy your time in hell,  
Riza_

_PS: I don't think that you haven't noticed it yet but I really, really hate you._


	18. 182: In which everything starts

**In which everything starts**

* * *

"No matter how bad we might be in the competitions, we have the best rooms," Laila said as she jumped onto Victoria's bed. "Well, Aerugo might have a lot of good athletes and that one girl from Drachma is supposed to be pretty fast at the eight hundred metres and rumour has it that she never lost but Vicky will get us the medal, won't you?"

"Consider the race as won," her sister said as she continued to unpack her suitcase. "I see no reason why I should allow anyone to beat me in my own stadium."

Min Li chuckled as she shook her head. "That's our Tori," she said with a smile.

"And look, that one football player from Creta is supposed to have a really great body … and the whole team of Aerugo has supposed to have a awesome technique with the ball … still, Nick has the best hairstyle out of them," Elicia went on as Laila continued to jump on the bed.

Victoria looked up from the shirts she was folding. "That girl from Creta is supposed to be pretty quick and the brat from Drachma kicks hard but still, we don't have to worry," she said. "Because no matter what: we have the most awesome bus driver."

"You know that Edward is probably going to drive the bus, right?" Laila laughed.

"Sure," the red-haired girl said. "And that's exactly what I look forward to it because no matter what will happen, we will have a lot of fun on the way to the doom."

"Aren't you under a lot of pressure?" Min Li asked as she let down her hair. "You have to defend your titles, don't you? Isn't that troublesome for you?"

"Honestly? I am happy about this. Up to now, I could be sure to win when I entered the stadium. Now … for the first time, I might have to fight," Victoria said and her eyes burned brightly. "Frankly, Creta might have trained in the forests. Aerugo might have trained until they couldn't stand. Xing, hey, and what if they really trained in the desert? Who cares if Drachma froze while they trained? And do you think that anyone is impressed that Britannica nearly killed themselves while training? No … because in the end, this will be decided in my stadium. This will be played by my rules and after all, it's my game because it's my country and I won't lose."

"She is right," Min Li said. "Hellas might be the secret favourite and yeah, the other Monte, Monte Genève can win medals despite their low amount of athletes … and Ishbal is there as well and still, we have to brilliant yet insane women who decided to settle the problems they have with each other during this competition and therefore, Amestris will get the big trophy in the end. Vicky, it won't depend on the medals you will win … but it will depend on what we do as a team."

"You are right," Victoria said as she threw her favourite shirt onto her bed. "And frankly, this time, it's not just about sport. This time, it is about peace and more hope. To win now makes you immortal, no matter how many medals you already won. This time, it will be special … and because of this, I really yearn to win. I mean … it would be a wonderful thing to do after all I … we all have been through."

"Honestly, both of you are right," Laila said as she held out her hand. "Let us strive to grow, alright? Let us strive to become greater and better than before … to make an awesome thing out of this. Let us make everything special and to allow everyone who sees or hears this event to have a great time."

"Of course," Min Li said. "Let us aim for the top – for the top of everything."

"Yeah," Elicia said as she held out her hand as well. "Because … who said that the sky is supposed to be the limit? Let us surpass ourselves. Let us make all the pain and the hard work worth it."

"Because somehow, we were always great … and now, let's carry this into the world," Victoria said.

"Let us win this for Amestris, for all the fallen – and for the sport," Laila grinned.

"For the days Vicky collapsed in the stadium because it was too hot for her," Elicia chuckled.

"For all the days Laila couldn't even eat properly and had to be feed because her hands hurt," the red-haired girl said with a wide smile.

"For all the days Elicia collapsed in the gym because she felt dizzy after spinning around too much," Min Li grinned widely as she threw herself onto her bed.

"And for all the damned days Min Li nearly drowned because it was just too much for her," Laila said.

"We are going to make every little wound worth it – tenfold!" Victoria said determinate.

They thought back to the long days of training. Waking up early in the morning to get some work done before the sun started to burn down. Running, swimming, shooting and doing gymnastics until every single fibre of the body hurt. Taking a short break before getting back to work because they had had a goal and now, this goal was so close and everyone knew that at least Victoria would have a nervous breakdown if she should fail now … so close before the day she would win everything she wanted.

"At least tenfold," Min Li grinned.

* * *

The opening ceremony was something Nerissa would describe as glamorous later on in her life. The whole Amestrian team wore the jackets Laila had described as 'pretty' in the time before the event. They were black with purple, green, yellow and red stripes on the back and the name of the athlete was written in silver. According to Bendix whose ministry had bought them, they had been incredibly expensive because they had been designed by a famous Amestrian designer and therefore, everyone had been asked to treat them carefully because they hadn't bought many spare exemplars.

Min Li who was walking with the swim team smiled widely at the fireworks that painted beautiful patterns onto the nightly sky. It didn't bother her that she was the only member of the Wei-clan that wasn't starting for Xing and Cai who was next to Victoria wasn't bothered that he was a Xingese prince and yet not starting for his brother's country. Mei had refused to accept her qualification for gymnastics and martial arts because she wouldn't betray anyone.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Edward asked Lan Fan. Since they both had a complete limb replaced by automail, they had been disqualified from the sport event and since they were both famous in a way, they had been chosen as the official representatives of their respective countries.

The Xingese empress nodded with a faint smile on her face. "Not as great as the fireworks on Ling's last birthday but still great," she replied softly.

For a moment, Edward wondered how she could stand all of this. Just like so many others, she was torn between her loyalties. Sure, officially, she would cheer for Xing – for her husband, for her sister and for other members of her clan who participated in the competitions – but the blond man was sure that a part of her would hope that Min Li and Cai would be successful as well.

Down in the stadium, they could see Laila who was calm and collected as always as she walked with her fellow archers. Her golden hair fell down to her waist – not braided or tamed for once. Edward sighed as he looked at her. She seemed to be extremely concentrated – just as usual – and this wasn't necessary because this time, nothing could happen. The security was far too tight with all the foreign dignitaries hanging around in the arena.

"It might be interesting," Lan Fan stated as she looked at her brother-in-law who walked proudly next to Victoria because in the end, they were both members of the same team and as such, they would fight to the end. Lan Fan knew that they had trained together and now, she looked forward to seeing the results of this training. Knowing the both, she knew that Cai and Victoria had surely worked hard.

"I look forward to the competitions tomorrow," Lan Fan said. "Min Li starts with swimming, doesn't she? Too bad that Xing lost her because we have no swimming team…"

"Did you know her when she still lived in Xing?" Edward asked with a frown. "I heard from Vicky that she lived in your hometown for a very long time … and she's your niece…"

"Yeah … I knew her," Lan Fan said slowly. "She was … always a special girl and somehow, I knew this. I was told that she was cousin Chao's daughter but I knew my sister and I doubted this story. I have nothing against Chao – but his daughter wouldn't have been educated the way Min Li was. Some things were always strange about what I was told and I knew Jun Li. I knew her better than most people and so I knew that it was her daughter. They are similar – even in the way they fight. Well, it's rare to see Jun Li in a battle without any weapons but sometimes…"

"What do you mean with education?" Mei who sat with them asked curiously.

"Despite being born out of wedlock, Min Li had the nearly the same education as any Yao-princess … which she is from her father's side," the empress said. "I always wondered how Chao could pay for all the teachers she had because he never earned as much money as Jun-Jun … but now I know that she sent money home … originally to support grandfather and me but grandfather who probably felt guilty about a rash decision gave the money to Chao who invested it into Min Li's education. He probably knew that there would be a day that Jun Li would get behind everything."

"Chao and Jun Li … what's the matter with them anyway?" Mei asked as she looked at her sister-in-law. "I wanted to train in the awesome dojo your cousin bought last year under your sister's orders and they were nearly killing each other in a normal spar."

"In a way, they are far too similar," Lan Fan said calmly. "Grandfather always said that they are like mirrors – and to them, the other represents everything they had wanted and never got. It was Chao's dream to become a Dragon Warrior – and Jun Li became it despite not wanting it the same way. On the other hand, Chao got to stay with the family and he was able to raise Min Li … something Jun Li would have loved to do herself. You see the way she acts around Cai, Fu and every other child. There was nothing she wanted as much as having a happy family of her own one day but she was forced to make decisions that took this away from her. Still, I don't think that she really regrets it because in the end, she got what she wanted. But somehow, this injustice of fate is the reason why they are still trying to shatter each other … because deep down, they know that they will never get rid of the feeling that they were robbed of a dream until they manage to kill each other, until they shatter the mirror."

Mei nodded. "I see," she said calmly as she looked back at the walking athletes. "I am just worried."

"Why?" the empress asked as she followed her gaze.

"Victoria and Min Li … for them, everything usually goes without a problem," the princess said as she rested both hands on the railing. "As long as I know them, they are living in a world that has to be like a dream to them … but they are lost, aren't they? A big part of the 'perfection' they have is nothing but an image … or a dream. But no one can wake them up, isn't it like this? Whatever they do, they keep on winning … and now I wonder, what will happen once it stops?"

"The good thing is that they got this far because of other people," Edward said. "Sure, they both had people who supported them … but no one helped them to run or swim faster than anyone else. In the end, it's all their own determination and the will, no, the need to prove other people wrong who judged them without knowing anything. They won't fall deep because they always expect to fall."

"Maybe you are right … but they walk like they rule the world."

"Often, you try to hide your pain and your weakness behind your strength," Lan Fan said. "To allow yourself to show weakness isn't wrong … because in the end, it might save you."

"Every training basically has the point to overcome yourself," Edward agreed. "And therefore, it is the only thing you can do to become a stronger person. Strength never comes from nothing."

* * *

"There it starts," Min Li said as she entered the Aquarium. She carried her bag and wore the jacket – and somehow, she was happy about this because since she could hardly wear armour in this, she was relieved that she was able to wear another kind of uniform to hide in.

"Looks like it," Jade nodded as she put down her own bag to hold out her hand. "Let us shine."

"You are still pretty nice when I consider that we will swim against each other in an hour or so."

"I don't see you as my opponent," the older woman said softly. "Everything that counts for me is to beat Nerissa. I don't care if I make it second place after you … as long as I don't lose to her."

"Isn't it wrong to make such a challenge out of this? Isn't this whole event supposed to form a new friendship between the countries? And how can you two … fight each other now?"

"Nerissa knows … or at least she should know … that she can't win against me – not when I really want to win," Jade said. "Between us, this is a matter of mental strength. She may claim that she wants the victory more than I do but she misses the fact that I don't want this. I need to win more than her. And therefore, she has no chance. She doesn't even know what I will do in order to win against her."

"Don't you think that it is sad that it has to happen like this?" Min Li asked rationally.

"It is sad but it is how the world works. Nerissa and I can't go both around, claiming to be the strongest female member of the secret service when we have still a few unsettled things," Jade said. "And frankly, I want to settle these things."

* * *

Unnoticed by most people, Catherina won her first fight in the weight class that had more famous fighters than everything else. Fate had ensured that the fight between Jun Li and Nerissa wouldn't happen before the final and this was good because everything else would mean that at least one of them wouldn't be able to take part in another competition and yet, despite the way everyone looked forward to this final fight, hardly anyone cared about the qualification rounds.

"It wasn't necessary to wipe the floor with the poor woman," a familiar voice said as Abigail stepped to her side. "Still, you wanted to make sure that no one will forget about your ambition to win at least one important medal for Creta, right? I can understand this, Cathy, but cool down a little bit, will you?"

"To hear this coming from you … I kinda consider this as irony," the red-haired woman said as she took a towel to wipe away her sweat. "You are the most ambitious woman I've ever met – and I know many strong-willed women. You are the one who worked harder than anyone else to reach a point where your martial art prowess surpassed everything I have seen in many years. Even in your age, you can still wipe the floor with most opponents … and maybe I should happy that you are no part of this competition because you would be able to knock me down in less than three minutes – and that's when I've a really good day. The thing is that you are Abigail Mustang, the champion."

"And that gives me the right to remind you of your own strength. You tend to forget about this, Cathy, and sometimes, that worries me because I know this strength just too well. I won't stop you but please … try to remember how easy it is for you to break someone's nose."

* * *

The arena trembled as the female athletes entered for the high jump. It was part of the heptathlon and as second competition it would allow the leading athlete to get more points to establish her aspiration to win this heptathlon. Victoria Hamilton had won the hundred metres hurdles like it had been expected from the teenager who was currently pulverising every single Amestrian record her mother had created eighteen years ago – and the fastest way to do so would be to win the heptathlon.

But currently, the favourite sat on her bench and hadn't even warmed up. She still wore her long-sleeved jacket over her shirt and her hair hadn't been braided after she had lost one hair band during the first competition. The other girls were already jumping but while Victoria knew where they were currently standing, she didn't seem to care that the second best had more points than her right now.

_"Many are wondering why the favourite and winner of the hundred metres hurdles isn't taking part in the high jump competition so far … her coach seems to try to persuade her to jump at least one time but she seems to refuse. Maybe she wants to show her ambition to win this competition with one single jump towards the end or maybe she is injured – we don't know,"_ the announcer declared.

Victoria snorted while she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall behind her. She would start her own competition once she knew the result of Min Li's, Laila's and Nick's competition which she currently didn't. She knew furthermore that she could create a new Amestrian record for high jump every day someone asked her to do so because her technique was different from most people's since she had copied her mother's technique which had allowed Lynn to jump higher than anyone else.

Still, even the most stoic and calm girl got nervous as her only real rival got closer and closer to her own mark which she had used for the qualification. Sure, Victoria could beat that with ease but she was annoyed at the way everyone believed that she was already defeated. But she would wait until she knew that everyone else had passed their first round.

_"And finally, we hear something from another competition: Min Li Wei who starts for Amestris in this tournament won the first round of the two hundred metres free style in the Aquarium, the football team Amestris C defeated Aerugo B and got into the next round,"_ the announcer said. _"And Laila Hawkeye is on a good way to win the archery competition!"_

Victoria stood up and mentioned the judge to come closer. "Two metres," she said calmly as she looked straight at the man. "I will start there."

"That would be Amestrian and Alliance record, Miss Hamilton!" the man protested.

"Do you really think that I wouldn't know this?" she asked with blazing eyes. "I came to this competition as Amestrian champion. Believe me: I know what I am talking about. I know this game and I know what I can do and where my limits are. I am not destroying myself today."

"Miss Hamilton, be reasonable," he tried to argue. "The current record hasn't been touched in more than eighteen years. Your mother was a brilliant athlete and no one can compete against her!"

"My mother is dead and I am here to write history, sir," she said as she tied her laces. "I think that it is time for me to remind the others that I am still in this tournament."

"The favourite finally decided to involve herself with the high jump," the man high up in the sky said. "And – whoa – Victoria Hamilton starts where her mother stopped: two metres for the chancellor's _daughter. She proved that she can get close to the record before but she never attacked it openly. But this is a declaration of war at everyone else. She demands that others follow her in order to defeat her."_

On the sidelines, Peter and Roy shook their heads.

"Vicky is good, no one ever doubted that but … this is a little bit too much," the chancellor said.

"Oh, I don't know," his uncle-in-law shrugged. "She is Lynn's daughter after all."

"You miss them as well, don't you?" Roy asked softly as he looked at the older man who watched his granddaughter with pain in his eyes.

"Yes," the Element Alchemist said slowly. "With every passing day, I realise how much I loved them … no matter how foolish and crazy they were, they were my little girls … and it's just not right for the parents to live longer than their children … but even if I had the chance, I knew that I wouldn't change anything because whenever you turn one of fate's screws, you change everything and maybe it would make everything worse than it is."

"Sorry to interrupt your philosophic moment, Peter, but Vicky is finally jumping now," Roy said as he leaned forward – just to see how his daughter crossed the bar with the perfected version of Lynn's old technique. "She will win this."

"Like I said: she is Lynn's daughter after all and my little girl would have won this as well. No matter how much she hated the spotlight, she was a real star."

It was painful for both of them to remember Lynn because while the silver-haired woman had always been ranked as the weakest of her sisters, she had been able to take down every single one of the 'stronger' ones because she had never given up.

They watched how Victoria finally took off her jacket before she looked at her maybe greatest rival in this tournament. "You there," she said with a smug smirk. "Unlike me, you have still to learn something: you need to know when it's better to fold. Because right now, I am ending this … I am too bored to watch this a second longer. It's bothering me."

The older girl, no, the young woman from Drachma glared at her. "Two metres? You are crazy. There is no way in hell that you might jump that. You could have beaten me – if you had fought me openly. But now, you are going to fail and you will lose," she said.

"Just watch me," the girl said as she faced she had to cross. "Just watch me."

In her sport clothes she looked just like any other young athlete with the difference that she was a little bit younger than most others but that wasn't this important. She wore black pants and a silver shirt with purple lines that left her stomach exposed. She was a professional athlete after all – unlike most others who had been sent to the competition despite being hobby sportsmen. In her field, the red-haired girl was a known talent. She had been champion of most Amestrian Masters in the last years and therefore, it was matter of honour for her to pass the bar with ease.

_"This is the strength and the prowess of Victoria Hamilton who passed two metres without a trouble – and as long as no one else can do the same, she wins this competition as well," _the announcer said.

"Victoria's ambition worries me," Peter said. "She is like Lynn … higher and higher … a simple dream but she will wake up one day as well. For Lynn, everything was over when she injured her knee when she was seventeen. Sure, she was the most successful athlete and to the date, many of her records are still existent but…" the red-haired man sighed deeply. "Victoria is just a human being, like Lynn."

* * *

Jade was out of breath as she ran after Min Li who had just dried her hair and was now on her way to the stadium. "That was a good start earlier," she said. "You have good chances to beat me and Nerissa."

"I have no intention to give oil into the fire called the rivalry between you and her," the seventeen-year-old girl said calmly as she looked at the woman. "I want to win as well, sure, but I won't become a pawn in the mess between you and her because I refuse to choose to side with someone."

"You would side with Victoria if she was part of this mess, wouldn't you?"

"She is my best friend and therefore I am loyal to her," the Xingese replied calmly. "I believe that we should stay true to our promises and therefore I am loyal to my friends."

"Loyalty, huh?" the woman smirked as she smirked. "I know a thing or two about that."


	19. 183: Victorious?

**Victorious?**

* * *

Cai was the first to hug Victoria because he had been there in the stadium when she had won the high jump competition which wasn't part of her heptathlon with another Amestrian record. He had picked her up and twirled her around because in the end, she was his girlfriend's little sister and therefore, it was just good that they got along this well. And Cai was truly happy for her because she deserved this. He had been there when she had trained. He had seen her pain and the blood she had spilled when she had tripped and fallen because she had been too exhausted to walk properly. And unlike Laila who had the temper of her biological mother, Victoria was the sweet kind of girl. Cai knew that Owen was a very lucky guy for getting the princess. When Owen's friends came to his flat in the centre of the town to visit him, he had never to worry that someone might have told Victoria about this because unlike her late mother, the red-haired girl lacked the way of turning sunshine into rain – something Lynn used to do with ease. Victoria also never complained over Owen's shirts (because she never cared much about her own outer appearance as Cai knew) and it was rare for her to make a face at something a friend said or did. Still, Cai would never complain about his own relationship because even though loving Laila was painful every once in a while when she was throwing a fit at something that annoyed her or someone who had dared to insult/injure a friend, Cai knew that he wouldn't want it any other way.

Sure, she left driving a car to Nick who had picked up Riza's and Martin's awesome way of driving a car but she still managed to drive him crazy.

She often reminded him of Min Li which he considered as older sister or cousin to avoid any attempts to find the right label for his brother's sister-in-law's daughter who also happened to be older than him. Min Li was like Laila: they both drove him crazy and blamed it on him when they ran out of gas because he had **forced** them to exhaust themselves by getting mad at something.

Victoria was different and yet similar to the both older girls but somehow, Cai knew that Nick would beat up those who said that they _liked_ Victoria because they hardly knew her and therefore, it was likely that they didn't love Victoria's personality but merely her body and whenever Cai thought of one of these … persons might touch the red-haired girl, Cai wanted to join Nick at beating up some guys.

Still, Cai liked his female friends because none of them were annoying. None of them used her daddy's credit card to get whatever she wanted. None of them had called Nick lazy when he had decided to take a whole year off after school to organise his priorities (well, Cai, Laila and Victoria had done the same but they had already known what they would do afterwards). And even if Min Li could be a dream and a nightmare in one (especially in the early morning), she was a good friend.

"Congratulations, Vicky," Cai said as he put her down again. "This is your show today, star."

She giggled which was hardly typical for her and patted his shoulder. "Thanks, Cai," she said as she looked around. "This is an awesome atmosphere today, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "And I am really proud of you, flash. You are a true star and this is your stage."

She laughed and hugged him tightly. "I could never be any other way," she said. "This is what I need, what I live for … and no matter how often I change my clothes or my hair, I will always be the same."

"Just like Laila," he said. "Whenever I buy her roses, she complains and says that she doesn't like the thorns. Still, I see her smiling and that's what I do it for."

"Talking of Laila … did you hear earlier that she seems to be on a good way?"

"It's Laila so we don't have to worry about her. She will be fine – because she isn't the type to be anything but fine, right?"

The red-haired girl nodded slowly. "I am proud of everyone," she said.

"And everyone is proud of you," he said as he spun her around one more time. "I know that you hate it when I speak like this but … you chose the best moment to shine. They are still wondering where you take this energy from and frankly, I still don't get it but … fly like the bird you are named after, Hawkeye, will you? I heard that Ling bet a lot of money on your victory and he will be sulking when he loses – and Lan Fan will get mad at him."

* * *

Nerissa stared at the display for more than half a minute while her mouth slowly opened.

This was not happening. She would wake up in a few minutes and she would realise that the competition didn't even start yet. She would laugh about her own foolishness and everything would be alright. But she didn't wake up and the display wasn't changing. She had been defeated. She had kinda counted on Min Li being faster than her because in spite of the experience the blonde had, she was much older and so it had been to be expected that the younger woman would probably win. But while this was alright, the other thing wasn't alright at all. How could it be that Jade had been faster than her?

Somewhere next to her, Min Li coughed out water she had swallowed while she had swum faster than anyone else and Nerissa watched how Jade patted the girl's back. And there, it was again: a feeling of complete loneliness. She hated when this happened because she was not lonely. She was perfectly fine with her life and she would never complain about anything because it could always come worse as her sisters' fate had shown her. She raised her head and pulled off the dumb swimming cap before she froze for a second. It had felt like someone she had known once had been staring at her but she perished the thought. She had to get herself together. It would be stupid to give up now, just because Jade had beaten her once. She had known that it would be difficult to make points against her and now, the black-haired minx had proved that she could be one hell of a fighter when she wanted to be.

"Congratulations, Min Li, Jade," Nerissa said as they got closer to her. "It was a good competition."

"And three medals for Amestris," the girl beamed as she wrapped the towel around her shoulders. It was strange how giddy she seemed to be, Jade mused. She had heard from Chao Wei that the girl could develop quite a ambitious streak once she really wanted something and that Min Li had been one of the best pupils of the school she had visited in Xing. Therefore, she should be used to winning and a simple medal shouldn't make her feel like a little kid on Midwinter's Eve.

"We were good, yeah," Nerissa agreed slowly as she stared at the water. "Well, you were better."

"Don't worry," Jade said with the classical Mustang-smirk. "There will be other competitions."

And suddenly, Nerissa realised how her sisters had dealt with all the times they had been down and nearly defeated. Just like the stupid black-haired beast, they had always believed that there would be another chance for them to win and therefore, they had never lost their hope.

* * *

Laila was in the hall adjoined to the Aquarium a day later. She was tired from the competition but her success made her walk like she was stepping on clouds. She found an empty seat on a chair in the middle of the room and as she let her eyes roam over the audience she frowned for a second as she spotted a man around Alain's age with longish hair tied into a ponytail. She shook her head and turned her gaze back at the podium while she watched the three victorious women enter the room as the new Amestrian Anthem (Lionnenburg-Song by Charlotte Llewellyn, formerly used as Anthem of the Western Area) was played. Nerissa looked slightly frustrated and was most likely not happy about the third place while Min Li was beaming and radiating joy.

Laila turned around as the door was opened once more and Victoria and Cai rushed into the room, both slightly out of breath because they most likely sneaked away from the stadium but somehow, the blonde didn't think about scolding them because she knew that this was a special moment for them as well and therefore, they would have crossed the desert to be present now. And Victoria was supposed to be in the water in two hours anyway.

And then, when all the women stood on the podium and smiled happily for the cameras, a Drachman man stormed forwards and yelled: "Our swimmer would have deserved the gold medal more than that Xingese brat!" he caught his breath and added: "This competition was faked!"

He made the mistake of trying to grab Min Li's medal while the girl was still frozen and suddenly, he was confronted with Nerissa's flat hand that hit his face. _"No rash moves,"_ she hissed in Drachman. In spite of being far from Serena's brilliance when it came to languages, Nerissa's knowledge of Cretan, Xingese, Aerugian and also Drachman was surprisingly high.

While the banter went on, Laila watched how the man left the hall but before she could think of a reason why someone would leave when it got interesting, she saw Lan Fan's face in the crowd and for a second, she mused about the ghostly paleness of the empress' skin before she realised that Fu's mother was just like Laila's mother: instead of getting a crimson face while being mad at something, they became pale – and as usual, this kind of fury was far more dangerous.

* * *

The three girls in the black swim suits turned around as Elicia finally hurried out of the changing room. It was a moment of utmost tension. Min Li was trembling inside and a feeling of nervousness she hadn't felt since the day of her bodyguard exam was running through her veins. Laila leaned against a locker and tried her best to look calm and collected while she felt like someone had punched her into the stomach. Victoria was paler than usual and toyed with the band of her goggles as she stared at the ground. But Elicia was even more nervous. She was the last one to swim and therefore, she was already freaked out now because she feared to mess everything up.

"Alright, girls, this it is," Laila said calmly as she wrapped her arms around Elicia's and Victoria's shoulders as they formed a circle. "So, this it is: the great thing, the thing we've been waiting for."

"This is our chance to write our names into the history books," Elicia muttered. "So, let's fight."

"Yeah, because everyone knows that we trained the hardest," Victoria said in agreement as she smiled. It was true. Up to now, the Amestrian athletes had dominated every competition they had taken part in because it was rare to meet an opponent who had trained as hard as they had.

They nodded at each other one last time before they walked into the actual Aquarium. It was easy to spot that most other teams at inner differences and Min Li hoped that this would slow them down.

_"And here comes the Amestrian Team for the 4 x 100 metres freestyle relay!"_ the announcer yelled enthusiastically. _"First swimmer, Min Li Wei who is the favourite athlete of the audience, second swimmer, a member of the athletic squad, Victoria Hawkeye-Hamilton, third swimmer, Laila Grumman Hawkeye who usually fights for the archery team and last but not least: Elicia Hughes who was borrowed from the gymnastic team where she was quite successful so far."_

Up in the rows of the audience, the man with the ponytail sat and watched with interest.

"Do you know the Amestrian swimmers?" the female stranger next to him asked.

"Not really," he replied calmly as he watched how the Xingese girl climbed onto the starting block. "I am merely interested in the way everything changed since the last time I attended such an event."

The whistle was blown and the black-haired girl threw herself into the water before she started to fly through the water as if she was at least twenty percent fish and only eighty percent human.

"Go Min-Min!" the girl called Elicia yelled while her teammates cheered as well.

"Those girls," the man said as he shook his head. "They will need their breath soon enough."

He suddenly noticed a black-haired boy with the typical Hawkeye-bang entering the hall and making his way to the front where he could cheer for the blonde who was swimming now. "Go, Laila, you are a star – now do what you do best and shine!" he yelled while two other boys joined in.

"Tori-sama is going next!" a boy of maybe eight years said as he took the woman's hand. "She is good, isn't she, mother? I mean … in training, she was awesome!"

"Victoria will be a dolphin," the woman smiled as she patted his hair with her automail hand.

The red hair was secured under a swimming cap as the girl jumped into the water and while she was not as fast as Min Li, it was obvious that she hadn't made it into the team because of her name.

"Damn those water alchemists," the woman next to him muttered as she shook her head. "Min Li has been spending every free minute swimming since the day she discovered that she liked it. Laila is good at nearly everything she tries and Elicia has the determination to make up for her lack of experience."

"And she has Nick who motivates her when she thinks that she might fail," her son said amused.

"And even if he wouldn't – Min Li has enough power to drag all of them through this," she chuckled. "I kinda envy my sister for having such an independent daughter…"

"Mom – I am eight and she is seventeen. Give me a break, will you?"

"It's great to have children at such a young age," the man said with a smile. "I enjoyed it when my daughters had this age. They were so innocent, so … full of life."

"I agree but my ungrateful son abandoned me to study here in Amestris," the woman said. "Oh, I forgot to be polite: Lan Fan Wei, I am Min Li's aunt. Nice to meet you, sir."

"Aren't you supposed to attend the tennis tournament, your highness?" the man smirked.

"I suddenly got a headache and thanks to my understanding bodyguard, I managed to get here without being noticed," she chuckled. "Jing is really a great guy. Maybe I should hook him up with Min Li…"

"You remind me of my late wife. She used to say things like this about my nieces as well."

"I believe I didn't get your name, sir," Lan Fan said calmly as she looked at him.

"Bert," he said. "Bert Falk."

"Nice to meet you, Mr Falk," she said as she shook his hand. "You are an alchemist, aren't you?"

He nodded. "What gave it away?" he asked with a faint smile.

"For once, I spent a lot of time with alchemists. My brother-in-law is one and my sister, my sister-in-law and some more of my family practice alkahestry. It is in the way you guys move, I guess. You are more in sync with the earth energy than normal people," she said. "And furthermore, you are the right kind of person to master such a difficult art without abusing it. I see no silver watch, you know?"

"It is a shame that so many great alchemists sold themselves to the state," the man said gruffly. "I still respect her but I had a better opinion of Lady Mustang before she joined the state alchemist program."

"Which Lady Mustang?" Lan Fan asked with a frown.

"The older one," he huffed. "Good old Abby was one of the best, as much as it would hurt some to admit this. I have a high opinion on her family in general even though most of them sold themselves to the state and should rot in hell for this decision!"

"The state alchemist program will be changed again when Tori-sama makes it chancellor," the boy announced with so much faith that the man just had to agree.

* * *

When there was one thing, Min Li Wei hated about her new popularity, it would be the interviews she had to give whenever she got out of the Aquarium or another stadium. She loathed it but she had to be nice because she didn't want to be seen the same way Jacqueline Weisman was seen. And so the black-haired girl smiled into the cameras she wanted to shatter. According to the press, she liked yellow and dresses made of silk which was surprisingly the truth. It was also the truth that her hobbies were cooking, knitting and – what for a surprise – swimming. Laila had mentioned in one of her interviews that her Xingese friend liked things that reminded her of autumn because according to her, there was nothing as beautiful as the autumn of her hometown.

"Miss Wei!" an annoying reporter yelled as she stepped out of the security zone. "What about your love life? Is there someone who caught your eyes?"

She sighed deeply. "The last few guys were idiots who cheated on me," she said. "But I really don't want to speak about things like this because they don't matter anymore. And if I would give them away, they would be too ashamed to go out anymore and that would be too harsh."

"What about that one guy you were seen with a few times this year?" another man asked.

"He broke up with her," Elicia said as she came out as well, hair still dripping wet but with fire behind her green eyes. They had been far more successful than they had thought than they had started.

"Well, maybe you should greet him," Victoria smirked as she ran a hand through her moist hair.

"Good idea," Min Li said as she uncrossed her arms. "Hey there, Paul! Just thought that you might want to hear that I feel great – and I just won gold for Amestris with the three girls you called 'the losers I am my time wasting with'. I really hope that you got what you deserved."

"Maybe the little wave you gave the camera was the overkill, Min Li," Elicia smirked.

"Oh, and I think that these guys are waiting for you to comment on that guy who totally ruined your victory ceremony because he thought that the Drachman would have deserved it more."

"That's alright now," the Xingese girl said amused. "My dad and my uncle ordered some more security for the next one and so, it won't happen again."

"Anyway, there is Laila – that means we have to go now," Victoria said. "Bye-bye!"


	20. 184: Seconds

The old man who sat on the park bench with hair bound to a lose ponytail smiled as he watched the playing children even though it hurt because before everything had happened, he had been able to watch the generation after him play in the garden. He still saw it in front of him – as if it had been just yesterday. Playing, innocent and carefree children were something wonderful and he had always thought that children were god's gift to humankind. It hadn't mattered that he was technically just as much of an atheist as most other alchemists. He believed in this and since he had stopped practicing alchemy a long time ago, he saw nothing wrong with saying that children were god's gift.

A particular group caught his interest as they sat down underneath a large tree. While the older children seemed to relax they watched the younger ones play. Two blond-haired girls, maybe eight years old, laughed about the joke the black-haired teenager had made while they searched a place to practice their cartwheels and handsprings. The brunette girl with the spiky ponytail who had participated in the relay earlier and who sat now in the shadows of the tree and talked with the only red-haired girl in the group seemed to watch them and every once in a while, she gave a short advice since she seemed to be the most talented acrobat among the group.

Their names were Elicia Hughes and Victoria Hawkeye-Hamilton. Funny, how things didn't change.

It was interesting how nothing seemed to have been modified in more than twenty years. The man could still see his daughter and his niece practicing the very same thing in the garden. A faint smile crept onto his face as he watched the way a black-haired girl who seemed to be the oldest in this group hanging upside-down from a branch of the tree they were sitting under. This girl was the female star of the Amestrian swimming team, Min Li Wei. The man still remembered his niece doing the very same thing and sometimes he regretted that he hadn't seen her in many years.

"Let's play football," the boy with the black-hair suggested as he brushed back the bang that covered his eye. The bang was shaped like the wing of a hawk and probably part of the reason why so many girls seemed interested in him. Nick Hawkeye-Hamilton, football player and twin brother to Victoria Hawkeye-Hamilton which seemed obvious to the old man.

"Sure thing," the red-haired girl said as she jumped back onto her feet. Her name and her face had been on the front page of every newspaper in Amestris for the past few days – sometimes along with other faces and sometimes alone. She was the shooting star of the athletic scene which she had technically already dominated before people had shown interest and now, she got all the fame and glory she hadn't gotten before. The man on the bench decided that he felt happy for her.

"Tori, you just swam two hundred metres and you know that you have to be in the stadium in an hour and you still want to play football now?" the black-haired girl asked as her face slowly got crimson from hanging upside-down a little bit too long.

"Sure," the younger girl said carefree. "This is just another case of wide jump later on. And if I play football now, I don't have to worry about warming up, you know?"

It was the innocence of these children that broke his heart and let him believe that he did the right thing. He had doubted himself many times along the years because often, he had thought that he had made the wrong decision but seeing what his step had brought in the end, he knew that he would do it all over again. He remembered what he had tried to make the children understand: that sometimes, a huge sacrifice was necessary in order to make sure that the equation was right in the end. Some of them had understood this too well and their sacrifices had been too huge and too selfless. He had never believed that one of them could be this foolish but they had proven that their own lives had meant less to them than the greater good of everyone. A part of him felt great respect for them while another part wanted to shake them roughly for throwing away their lives.

"Hey, stop bragging, Min Li!" the red-haired girl shouted as her black-haired friend threw herself into the air as if gravity didn't apply on her and kicked the ball over to the blonde.

"As best of my year, I am supposed to show off my mad skills every once in a while," she grinned as she landed again. "And besides my martial art competition, I have nothing left to lose."

"And as champion of your year, it's pretty obvious that you will win," the blonde grinned. "But still, we shouldn't forget that we wanted to shine, remember?"

"Yeah," her brother said as he helped her back up. "That's what we wanted to do: to fly higher than any birds … and since we have no wax in our wings, we can come closer to the sun than anyone else."

The obvious hint towards the Icarus-legend wasn't lost to his friends and siblings. The three blondes frowned while the red-haired girl shook her head as if she tried to get rid of an unbidden thought. The Xingese-trio looked down and the brunette girl looked at her brothers before she sighed as well.

"Well, the sign of the Yao-clan is a Phoenix and the rest of us is kinda tied to the Hawkeye-family – so we should be fine," the red-haired girl declared with a wide smile. "We were born with wings."

The man on the bench nodded as he remembered how he used to think the same and how terrible the disappointment had been when he had learned that betrayal had stolen his wings. He had believed in a better future and because he had believed, he had abandoned everything else. He had burned so many bridges because he had thought that it would be worth it in the end but the equation had been wrong. He had given too much and he hadn't gained anything but sadness and wrath about his own mistakes.

* * *

Nerissa's strength was to stay in the background while she did her job. After years of hiding it was nearly normal for her to hide in the shadows or in the crowd. And even on this sunny afternoon, she hid. She sat on a bench with her half-brother on her lap and while she enjoyed the moment of silence and peace before her martial arts competition, her eyes roamed over the other people in the park.

She knew that the other children were save with each other because despite the fact that she had never sparred against Min Li, she had enough respect for Jun Li to assume that any daughter of the Xingese warrior had to be quite good as well and Min Li had proven that she could create a good and working plan in less than three seconds.

"Nessa," Luis shrieked gleefully as he grabbed her hair to tug on it. "Let's play!"

He loved his oldest sister and to him, she was the greatest thing since the invention of chocolate and if anyone would ask him which member of his family he loved the most, she would win – hands down. His parents knew this just too well but while they were strict with him and wanted that he had a good future, Nerissa took everything not that serious and whenever she took the time to play with her little brother, she seemed to be a whole new person with her smiles and the way she laughed all the time.

Nerissa was one of the most careful people Amestris had ever seen. Some might argue that her tendency to keep fighting in complete disregard for the injuries she had suffered would get her really killed one day but most of the time she knew where to draw a line. Still, she was slightly paranoid – at least that was Serena's way to interpret her sister's behaviour – and therefore, she spotted the man on the bench pretty fast and for a second, she believed that her heart stopped beating.

Quietly, she got up and ignored Luis' muttered protest as she made her way through the crowd in the park. For a second, her gaze met the man's and his face showed the same shock she felt at this sudden meeting. He got up in a fluid motion that was fitting for him – even after such a long time – and hurried away. Nerissa cursed under her breath and hoped that Luis would forget these words very soon because she didn't want to be scolded by her stepmother for teaching her brother bad words.

The man was quick and Nerissa had a child on her shoulders but she was smart enough to stay right behind him. It was surely an advantage to know a person you were following through a busy town – especially if you had a lot of fans who slowed you down.

Still, somewhere in town, she lost sight of him and after she gritted her teeth, she inhaled deeply to calm herself down. Those breathing exercise were something she had copied from Jade and seeing the way the younger woman kept her emotions in check whenever they would be in the way, Nerissa had decided that it would be a smart idea to do the same and up to now, it had proven to be a smart idea.

"Nessa?" Luis asked as he tugged on her hair.

"I need to carry you in another way," she muttered as she lifted him up and held him in front of her with his head on her shoulder. "Luis, be a good boy and stay silent, will you?"

He nodded enthusiastically because he never wanted to disappoint her.

"Alright," the blonde woman said softly as she stared at the huge door in front of her. "This is just another all-or-nothing-scenario and you will walk out of here … hopefully," she added.

In a way, the church was beautiful and while Nerissa hadn't visited one in many years, she liked the way she calmed down as she inhaled the scent of incense and as she looked at Luis, she saw that he had fallen asleep. The church had been abandoned a long time ago and despite the fact that Nerissa often had had troubles with religion, she had to admit that this church was a good place to honour the deity. Her footsteps were barely audible because her shoes were made of soft leather and she had always had a light step. A part of her wanted to let out her inner glee as she saw that she hadn't lost her target and that her first guess had been right. The man was kneeling in front of the altar and his hands were folded in front of his chest. Nerissa's breath seemed to be stuck in her chest as she sneaked closer while she prayed that Luis would stay silent and asleep.

Suddenly, the man moved and turned around a page in the book in front of them to read the last page. "And here I am," he whispered. "I turn another page and soon enough, I will reach the last page of my own story as well. I said goodbye to all my friends a long time ago but now, I finally realise that it is getting late…" he sighed. "Probably, it is too late, I guess. A part of me wants to turn back time but since I know that this would be quite a pointless thing to do, I will merely ask forgiveness for my sins and while I still don't know where I will be going."

The blonde behind the pillar gulped. All her life, she had been a stubborn little girl. She had always kept holding on to everything because it would have meant a defeat to let go of anything. And so she had walked through the flames of hell, singing the song of freedom and victory because it had been the only way how she had been strong enough to make it through this hell. Even today, her scarred body was the proof for her walk through hell but she had stood tall and therefore, she prayed that Kay and Lynn wouldn't cry in Heaven. The good thing about Nerissa was that even after everything, she would never say goodbye before she hadn't tried everything to make it another time. She had chosen the hardest way because unlike Lynn, she hadn't learned her lesson until she had fallen from grace. And while she had made her way through the dark side of life, she had learned that she was the seed she sowed and because she had been made of shadows, she even grew in darkness. From shadows and the obscurity to a fighter … what a wonderful idea … no wonder that Serena had written a song so sweet and yet so bitter about the very topic.

"…and yet, I won't regret a thing because while I went wrong and hurt other people, I was right whenever it counted and so, I can be proud … now. Yeah, Equivalent exchange still applies even though it doesn't cover everything in life…" the man muttered. "What did you say, again, Van? A lesson that doesn't hurt is pointless because if you aren't willed to sacrifice, you don't deserve to gain anything at all. But once you accept this, you will be filled with a flame that shines brighter than anything else … yeah, you finally reach the flame I always searched, the one that doesn't destroys: the flame of determination … such a beautiful thing…"

"In the end, did you find it?" Nerissa asked as she stepped out of the shadows and crossed the arms – a decision she would regret seconds later. Luis clung to the hem of her skirt and stared at her with wide eyes. His big sister was a miracle to him and one day, he wanted to be just like her.

"I knew that someone was following me but I didn't expect to see you willingly in a church," the man replied as he looked at her with a sad expression on his face. "It has been a long time, Nessa, but I often thought of you. You might have enjoyed my journeys. I even was in Monte Genève."

She huffed. "You wanted to be found out, right?" she asked calmly. "Thanks for the flowers, by the way. I really liked them once I was sure that I didn't get myself a stalker."

He nodded calmly. "I didn't expect you to follow me," he said. "I was surprised enough to see you in that park. Usually, you avoided large crowds, didn't you? Therefore I was sure to be safe from you."

"There is nothing that could save you from me," she replied as she gently pried Luis' fingers away from her skirt. "Did you forget about my position in the mess some people call our family? Since I was smart enough to realise that hatred against those who did nothing to throw me would only stain my soul, I stayed loyal to the family. Maybe you can understand why I never gave up on doing what I do best, old man. Yeah, once I kidnapped Laila but she is Kay's daughter. That means that while it was wrong, it was no direct crime against the family. And I atoned tenfold for this lapse of judgement, you know? While Laila can protect herself, I still protect Victoria."

"Your determination to protect those who are weaker than you makes you the person you are," he replied softly, "but as much as I wish that I could turn around and leave, you know that I can't."

"I thought as much," she said calmly as she lowered her arms. "And before this starts, let me tell you one thing: it's good to see you again."

He nodded as he smiled. "Likewise, Nessa," he said kindly before they charged at each other. It was a one-sided match and if anyone would have been there to watch, he would have been disappointed with Nerissa's performance because her usual moves were gone. She was basically kicked around and more than once, she was slammed against a pillar before she got back up and continued to fight. The blood ran down her face like rain because of the scratch from an earlier tournament fight and for the first time since she had fought Catherina in training, she had barely the time to put her feet onto the ground to stabilise herself before the next attack. It was like gravity had lost its usual effect on her and like she was drifting around between the stars and the moon. It was a terrible experience but while she had removed him from THE LIST after his so-called death, she had to accept that some things would never change. Her ranking of fighters had looked like this up to now:  
1st place: Peter Hamilton  
2nd place: Catherina D'Artagan (who was weaker than Abigail Mustang who Nerissa had never fought)  
3rd place: the nuisance, Philippe Mustang  
4th place: Jadelina Mustang/Kay Hamilton/Jun Li Wei/Nerissa Hawkeye

And now, Nerissa had to realise that the old number one was back and that he was just as strong as before. She hated this. Just like anyone else, she hated to be defeated and she hated it even more than she lost in such a pointless fight. She had known that she would lose the moment the first strike had thrown her back. A part of her had died when she had fought back because the smarter thing to do would have been to shield herself as good as possible and to hope that no more hard blows would hit her. But no, she had been a fool and she had tried to fight. The problem was that it was like she was throwing cotton balls at someone who was completely armoured and therefore, she was losing – and she was losing fast.

"Miss Hawkeye!" a familiar voice called out as Stevens and Timms stormed towards her.

"Take Luis and get the hell out of here!" she yelled back. "Please, you will only get hurt if you stay."

"We were ordered to protect you!" Timms shouted at her.

"Stevens, consider it as your new mission to evacuate them," Nerissa ordered before she took another blow to her stomach. She hissed in pain and looked back at the man. "You know, Serena wrote a song about situations like this," she stated as she tumbled backwards. "One day, let me play it for you … One more time, your heart shall be free, just once more time…"

"You know, I feel sorry for this," he said calmly as he lowered his arms. "I didn't expect my return like this but you know that I can't have you dragging me back to the others, Nessa. So I hope that you can forgive me for this battle. And maybe … one day, I am really ready to return."

"Why are you even running away?" she asked as she wiped away the blood.

He stopped for a second. "Whatever you believe to know about me … it is probably wrong," he said.

Somehow, she managed to get back up on her feet and she took a few steps before she hugged him tightly and ignored the way he flinched. "When did you start to run away?" she asked softly. "You were the one to say that there is always a reason to keep fighting. Please … don't let it end like this, I beg you. You always said that determination is the answer…"

"To run is sometimes the only way to win," he replied while he gently tried to loosen her grip on him.

"We don't run away, did you forget?" she asked. "We run towards something, straight into the next mess … but we never run away or back down. That's not who we are."

"Is that the reason why you keep fighting even when your body begs you to let him rest? Nessa, one day, you will get yourself killed with this behaviour."

"Death is merely the passage from this world into another," she said. "And believe me: whatever you did, there will be a second chance for you. So many things changed…"

"Oh, it seems like I missed the moment when murder became accepted in this society."

"You didn't…" she whispered. "You didn't…"

"I don't know if I killed her or if another did," the man said as he turned his gaze towards the floor. "I can't remember what really happened. Everything went so damn fast … I was so mad at her…"

"Honestly, if this is everything … you didn't kill her, you know?" she muttered. "You aren't the kind of man who would kill someone that easily."

* * *

An hour later, Jun Li wiped away her sweat after she had defeated the woman she had been matched up against in the semi-finals. It had been an average fight for her but just like for most people, it hadn't been her first fight and slowly, the heat was getting to her.

"Nice fight," Catherina said as she looked up from the book she had been reading.

"I didn't know that you take part as well," Jun Li said calmly as she lowered her towel.

"In this field, I should be able to beat most people," the red-haired woman said. "The people who beat me are rare after all, right? Maybe Abigail and Alain but he is too much of a gentleman to be serious."

"I haven't had the chance to fight one of them yet but I heard that they are good."

"Phil surpasses Nessa when he gets serious and Jade equals her. This family is madness."

"Talking of Nerissa … where is she?"

"I am here, I am here!" the blonde shouted as she hurried into the room. Nothing betrayed that she had been just involved in a fight. Her hair was neatly combed and her clothes were clean. Luis walked next to her and he looked just as relaxed as his older sister. It was a miracle how quick Nerissa could recover from a fight when she took a few minutes. She had showered and therefore, no blood was visible. She looked like she had just spent a few hours in a park.

"There you are," Catherina said amused as she closed her book and put it back into her bag.

"Sorry that I am late but I had some minor issues to deal with," the blonde said as she let go of her brother's hand. "And Min Li won't come. She said that she had a headache and so she's in the hotel."

"That's alright," Jun Li smiled. "And maybe it is better this way. I am too proud of her to say nothing."

* * *

Min Li had been top of her year when she had been trained to be a bodyguard like most members of her family. She had been taught to accept the things the way they were and to question nothing at all. These rules had been engraved into her mind and therefore, she had asked no questions when Nerissa had asked her for help. Nerissa was a good friend of her mother after all and a little favour was the least Min Li could do for her. And so she sat in her room and observed the man Nerissa had brought in.

"Miss, do you speak Amestrian?" the man asked as he stared back at her.

"Fluent," she replied without batting an eye. "It is required for my profession."

"Can I ask a few questions about you?" he asked while he thought about crossing his arms before he remembered that his wrists were connected by thick iron ropes. Nerissa had always been known for the way she did her job very thoroughly and he had to admit that it was good to know.

"As long as your question will allow me to make my job, I don't mind," she replied.

"Who are you loyal to?" he asked. "Are you loyal to your emperor or to the chancellor?"

"A good question," the girl, no, the young woman admitted as she crossed her arms. "Well, my loyalty is hard to gain. I am loyal to ideas, not to people. I am loyal to the idea of peace … and even though I never wanted to connect my fate to the fate of another person, I have to admit that my loyalty is directed towards my friends. I don't wish for power or influence. I am happy with waiting, protecting and keeping an eye on everything. Some say that this isn't a good way to live but I don't mind."

She didn't say what her eyes had told her. Once upon a time – and she had seen the pictures – Laila had been far ahead of Victoria. Once upon a time, Laila had been the beautiful and mature girl. But one day, Victoria had started to grow and once she had begun, she had grown taller than most Min Li knew. The Xingese girl had been the same and because she had bloomed early, she would wither early as well but this was a price she was willed to pay. Because if she was more mature and wiser than the others, she could guide them and make sure that they would find their happiness. Min Li was older than them and therefore she had seen more. And while she knew that she would miss her youth one day, she also saw no reason why she should be all depressed because of a simple play of fate.

A loud noise on the hallway shook her out of her thoughts and she was on her feet in a second. Had she been a little bit better with weapons, she would have grabbed one of the kunai she hid on her person but since her only remarkable skill with these weapons was to hurt herself, she kept the weapons where they were and smoothly moved into the middle of the room. She had an advantage here because it was her room and she wore the mask she hadn't worn since she had come to Amestris but just like everyone else, she had to separate between the girl who lived and the girl who had lived.

The attacker was suddenly there and somehow, she managed to dodge the first blow before she slipped back into her old mode to knock everyone down who stood between her and her goal. She had to admit that the other one who wore a mask similar to her own was quick and surely talented but she hadn't been top of her year for no reason. Before she could get hit by the blade, she had already paralysed the weapon-wielding arm and with a swift kick, she threw the stranger back and he staggered backwards before he fell onto the bed. She followed him quickly and paralysed the second arm as well before she ripped away the mask.

"J-Jing?" she asked and was really grateful that she still wore her mask because her facial expression was probably very stupid and unintelligent. "W-what are you doing here?"

He huffed before he somehow managed to take off her mask as well. "Min Li," he sighed deeply.

She suddenly became aware of their position and a faint blush covered her cheeks. "You didn't tell me what you are doing here," she stated calmly. "And why did you attack me?"

"No need to be unfriendly, princess," he said with a teasing smile. "Well, I work for the empress as you know because you yelled at me when I applied for the job … and she asked me to keep an eye on your prisoner. And that's why I am here. She wanted to talk with him again."

"You know that I can't act against any orders," she said calmly as she crossed her arms. "I was asked to keep him here and save … and that means that I can't hand him over to you. Tell my aunt that she has to come if she wants to speak with him again, Jing. I can't be ordered around by you."

"I know, princess," he said with a smirk. "Anyway, it is good to see you again. There were rumours when you left this suddenly and we kinda missed you in the war. Still, you met my grandfather?"

She nodded. "You can't imagine how happy I am to see you again," she smiled. "And yes, I met your grandfather. He is just as awesome as you always said, Jing."

He sighed deeply. "I really don't want to sound ungrateful, Min, but are you trying to smash my ribcage?" he chuckled. "I remember that you were not this heavy, you know?"

A deep blush covered her cheeks. "Jing!" she hissed as she tugged on his hair that reached to his shoulders. "There were some things we agreed not to talk about, remember?" She glared at him. "And I want you to know that it was terrible to explain the women of my family that I had no hickeys after the insane amount of training we did when we were still in the academy but merely bruises."

"Liar," he giggled. "And congratulations to lying to women who have enough skill to sense lies, Min Li. You know exactly that some of them were hickeys."

"Keep dreaming," she huffed as she got up. "And by the way: I missed you as well."

* * *

Lan Fan was relaxing in her own hotel room after another long day of more or less boring competitions and faked smiles but by now, she was used to it. She had read some newspaper articles and toyed with the thought of getting the kids to sign some of them as the door opened and her bodyguard came back. She looked at him and knew that there had been problems. His black hair was ruffled, his jacket lacked a few buttons and his mask was missing. He sighed deeply before he bowed. "I am so sorry, your highness, but I ran into trouble in form of your niece while I tried to retrieve Mr Falk."

She shrugged. "I kinda expected this," she said as she combed Ai's hair before she bound the obsidian black hair into two buns once more. "And it proved me right," she added. "Thank you very much, Jing."

He bowed again. "I am merely doing my job," he said seriously before he noticed the emperor's presence in the doorway. Ling Yao was smirking and that had never meant anything good.

"Well, young man, what happened to you?" the emperor asked gleefully. "And am I spotting a hickey?"

"It's a bruise, your highness," the young man said as he tried to cover the suspiciously purple spot on his shoulder. "I was involved in a fight when I attempted to complete a mission for the empress."

"Min Li was there to protect the target," Lan Fan threw in as she smirked widely. "She got him, I guess."

Jing Bo didn't like the even wider smirk on the emperor's face and he braced himself for the worst.

"My, my…" Ling chuckled. "It seems like Min Li takes after you and your sister, Lan Fan, doesn't she?"

His wife playfully glared at him. "It seems so," she said stoically but her eyes gleamed with hidden joy.

"Your highnesses," Jing sighed as he unbuttoned the strange collar that had protected his neck from their curious gazes this far. "The purple areas on my shoulders are bruises. This," he mentioned towards his neck, "is a hickey. Good evening."

After he had left, Ling pouted at his wife. "Where did you get the amusing guard while I am stuck with the boring guys?" he asked. "Most of my guards wouldn't recognise a good joke when it would dance right in front of them – dressed only with Bradley's eyepatch."

His wife shook her head. "Please, don't remind me of that guy," she said darkly. "And the fact that I got all the nice and friendly bodyguards might be blamed on the fact that I am the empress while you are the emperor and therefore supposed to shield yourself with the best bodyguards of Xing."

"But in their presence, I am going to commit suicide," he muttered.

"Ling," she said sternly.

"I know, I know."

"Anyway, he just let slip an interesting piece of information," she said. "He was my escort nearly for three years by now and he never showed any interest for a girl … and when I asked, he merely said that he had no time for a girlfriend. And now, he finally shows interest in a girl! Honestly, one of your sisters even suspected that he might be interested in men after he didn't flirt back when she tried to get him to dance with her during the last ball."

"Too bad that he won't see her often," Ling stated calmly. "The desert will be an obstacle."

"Fu might want a new bodyguard…" the empress smiled. "Jun Li is so busy with everything since your grandfather is dead and while Lei tries to help her, he can't cook or play the waiter."

"Jun Li will be very happy about having her daughter's boyfriend living in her house," he muttered.

"Jing's grandfather works for her anyway and I am sure that Jing can live there."


	21. 185: Meeting the past

**Meeting the past**

* * *

Nerissa walked up to Riza after the older woman had been defeated in her semi-final by Catherina. According to some, it had been a one-sided match because Catherina had the strength and the expertise Nerissa lacked and furthermore, the red-haired woman hadn't been injured. Still, the first lady knew that something had happened the moment Nerissa appeared in her field of view. Nerissa moved too stiffly and her face was too empty to trick Riza into believing that everything was alright.

"What happened?" the brown-eyed woman asked calmly.

"I was right, damn," Nerissa said as she leaned against a cold wall. "Remember how I said that everything fitted too easy? That everything seemed to be too logical? Well, I was right. Lynn and Kay would have to answer some questions but unfortunately, they are both gone and off the hook."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Good old Uncle B sits currently tied up in Vicky's and Min Li's room and waits for one of us to show up after he successfully faked his own death so many years ago – Riza?" Nerissa almost failed to catch her cousin as she tumbled. "I know how this feels: you think someone died and they are running around and enjoy their live while you are mourning them at home."

"Are you sure?" Riza asked after she caught herself.

"I fought him after I stalked him for a while," the older woman said. "Believe me – unless there is someone else with such a punch which would mean that we are all doomed it is your dearest father."

"You didn't really fight him," Riza sighed. "Please tell me that you didn't fight him because that would mean that you got hurt again. You know that you are no match for him, Nessa. And while I seriously appreciate your competitive streak because it makes you stronger, I really wished that you would stop messing with people who are far stronger than you – and my father is stronger than you."

"I know," Nerissa muttered as she rubbed her temples. "He is the strongest I ever fought to be serious … and he is just as strong as he used to be. I always said that he is a cunning bastard but I didn't expect him to fake his own death like this. From what you told me, he risked nothing."

"He is a perfectionist, just like me and you," Riza said, "but I didn't expect him to trick me, you know?"

"I know how this feels," Nerissa said and she did know since her father had brought the same stunt. Maybe, she mused, it really wasn't a coincidence that Berthold Hawkeye and Peter Hamilton had been best friends a long time ago because they shared many things and hobbies – like tricking their daughters into believing that they had died.

"Still, he had no right to leave me alone, Nessa. Do you know how I felt?"

"I can imagine," Nerissa said quietly, "but I am sure that he had nothing but the best for you in mind. I mean … when he decided to leave, Kay and everyone else was still alive. He probably thought that it would be better for you when he left to his conditions than him being dragged away by the military. Sure, some things didn't work out the way he had planned them because he was always against the military and he surely wasn't happy when you joined but all in all, he did what was best for you."

"When you say things like this, they sound always _extremely_ logic and … rational," Riza said with a sigh. "You are maybe a little bit too persuading, Nessa. You could sell a drowning man a bottle of water."

"You are right but this is sure as hell nothing to be proud about," Nerissa said stoically as she rubbed the bruises on her side. "You know, it hurts when you get kicked into the rips."

"I know – Jade complained about the same thing a while ago," Riza stated with a smirk. "Anyway, maybe we should hurry up and move my father out of Victoria's room before she can come back."

"That sounds like a good idea," the older cousin grinned. "Why wasn't it mine?"

"Because you are not perfect and sometimes, I need to have my bright moments as well, Nessa."

"Ah well, that makes actually a lot of sense," the woman with the blue eyes said as she turned her gaze at the sinking sun. Once upon a time, she had compared the crimson sky to Kay's hair and suddenly, things like this resurfaced because before the hatred had taken control of Nerissa's thoughts and acts, she had admired her younger sister's determination and Kay's strength because in her eyes, it had been unrivalled. No one had been a match for Kay's mental strength (until Ishbal had broken her, that was the point) and while she had used to believe that Kay had been gifted with this, she had changed her opinion because back then, her uncle hadn't had this strength he had shown today (and while it had been more than enough to beat her until she had resorted to dirty tricks, she highly doubted that it had been more than a hint of his abilities).

"I didn't survive this long because of my lack of intelligence," Riza said amused as she crossed her arms. "Well, I should tell Roy that we are coming later so give me a second, alright?"

"Sure," Nerissa grinned. "Don't tell him yet, alright?"

"This is going to be one of the most complicated things that have ever happened."

"I agree," her cousin said sagely. "I nearly hope that Envy celebrates a surprising comeback just because I need someone to beat up – and honestly, the homunculus-issue or at least what I saw from this was less complicated and risky than this business."

"Did I ever mention that I sometimes hate the way you are right?" Riza muttered as she looked tired.

"Believe me – I hate it at least as much as you do," Nerissa said as she shrugged. "Anyway, see you later. I just saw someone in the crowd I have to say hello to."

"No matter how cute and rebellious the whole forbidden-love-thing you and Miles have running might be … don't you think about settling down, Nessa?" Riza asked as they walked on. "You aren't getting younger – none of us does this. Well, I don't want to bother you or anything…"

"I don't think that I am the kind of woman that marries and gets to be happy for the rest of her life," the older woman shrugged. "According to some sources, having good and stable relationships isn't part of the things I excel at. I am faithful and everything but sometimes, I need my missions to be free."

"So, you would decline if he would ask you?" Riza asked. "I thought you still dreamt of a huge wedding all in white with the carriage and all that stuff…"

"You just confused me with Rena," Nerissa giggled. "She does dream of things like this. You wouldn't have guessed, huh? She seems so disinterested in all this romantic stuff…"

"She read more romance novels than Kay, Lynn and I combined when we were younger. I was a little bit surprised when she started to act like romance is an illness and she is immune against it…"

"Serena is a pretender in so many ways that it hurts my soul," Nerissa said. "She acts better than most of our so-called professional actors and still, she doesn't notice. But she is old enough to decide."

* * *

Nick glared while he moved in front of his sister to shield her from a first attack. Victoria's eyes seemed to be burning with the force of thousands suns as she raised her fists. Owen was plain confused and looked at Min Li with the faint hope that she might be able to explain him what was going on but she seemed to be too lost in her own thoughts.

It was a dangerous moment and everyone in the room knew it. The danger wasn't even because of the fact that everyone in the hotel room had at least the abilities sufficient for the position of a state alchemist. The danger was because of the mere fact that all of the present were strong personalities and these strong personalities were doomed to clash with each other and furthermore, everyone was stubborn as hell and unwilling to give in easily.

Nick, fifteen years old, honest and loyal to the core. He had no sympathy for anyone who betrayed his friends. Victoria, fifteen as well, ambitious and loyal as well. She hated cowardice more than anything else. Min Li, seventeen years old, stubborn and strong. She saw and accepted that there was more than the visible because she accepted most things. Owen, nineteen years, skilled and faithful. He had reached his goals with hard work and nothing else. And finally: Berthold Hawkeye, forty-seven years old, stubborn and wise. He had been forced to leave everything behind because to stay would have meant to endanger his family.

And now, they stood there. Min Li would try to stay out of it because it was not her battle to fight and while Owen would be Victoria's back-up just in case that she needed it, he had no real intention to involve himself into this battle. So it was only between Nick, his sister and his granduncle. And ironically, they were probably the most dangerous because they had studied their respective techniques for a very long time. And still, they just stared.

It was obvious that everyone in this room knew who the others were. Berthold had heard that his nieces' children had made quite a name for themselves even though he hadn't heard yet which kind of alchemy they used, Owen Johnson was also known to him and he had seen Min Li in action before and he doubted that he had already seen the full extend of her skill. And for the others … well, they had heard the stories and so they knew just too well why they were dealing with.

Victoria had no illusions about the current situation. She knew that he was probably stronger than all of them combined. Nick was – just as always – worried about his sister and his friends. Owen was mentally reviewing all the ways to extinguish fire on short distance. And Min Li? Well, she seemed to be very relaxed but her hand trembled next to the knife hidden on her leg.

Finally, after a moment of agonising silence, Nick remembered how to speak. "Grand-grandfather," he said and suddenly, everyone relaxed. Victoria's purple eyes were soft and kind once more. Owen started to smile again. Min Li's hand dropped and Nick's shoulder lost their tension.

"Nick, I assume?" Berthold asked carefully.

"Correct," the boy said. "It's not my place to say this but-"

"Welcome back," Victoria interrupted him softly. "Welcome back, grandfather. I am honoured to meet you after we heard so many great things about you."

"I am honoured to meet you as well, Victoria," Berthold said while he mused how it was possible that Lynn who had been blunt to the point of rudeness had given birth to two such polite children. It made no sense to him but on the other hand, Martin had been a perfect gentleman and Riza had been a very polite young woman as well.

"I am sure that you already know Min-Min and this handsome guy is Owen, my boyfriend," the girl said and her eyes shone with so much joy that Berthold wondered if it was her way to deal with sadness to search a reason to smile again. Whatever her secret was, she did better than most people.

"Very pleased to meet you, sir," the air alchemist said with a small bow.

"Likewise, Mr Owen," the older man replied.


	22. 186: Confrontation

**Confrontation**

* * *

**Flashback – A day in winter 1907**

* * *

Kay came home with an expression of worry on her face. She merely waved at Riza as she hurried up the stairs to her uncle's study. On the stairs, she passed Lynn and bit her lip because she already knew that she might require her younger sister's help. Kay hated her current situation and she knew that Lynn would throw a fit at this because the silver-haired girl hated when she was involved into dangerous and forbidden things. Even the destruction of the tattoo on Kay's back had taken a lot from her and Kay hated herself for asking for another favour just three years later. Her back always ached when she saw the pain in Lynn's eyes but there had been no other way. Kay had felt dirty for carrying such a secret on her body and to clean her body and her conscience likewise, she had been forced to do this. She had been knocked out during the whole process but Riza had told her later how Lynn had looked as she had been forced to remove nearly the whole skin covering the back and healing the wound as good as she had been able to. Kay hated selfishness and yet, her mother had forced her into it as well.

"Already back, Kay?" Berthold asked as he looked up from the book he had been reading. "You said that you would come home this Saturday. Today is merely Tuesday."

She closed and locked the door behind her – a habit Nerissa would copy later on in her life – before she sat down on the desk. "We have a problem, Uncle B," she said while she forced herself to sound calm and collected. "The military is working on a law that would allow them to force you to fight in Ishbal – with your Flame Alchemy. You … you need to disappear – soon."

For a few agonising long minutes, he was silent and stared at the garden that was hardly to be seen under the white snow. "So, it has really come to this?" he muttered. "Somehow, I didn't expect them to be this fast, you know? I knew that this day might come but … not this fast. I had so much left to do…"

"Uncle, please don't underestimate the danger of this situation," she said with a slight edge in her voice as she folded her hands in her lap. "This means trouble for you and everyone else – even if you leave."

"Don't worry, Kay," he said. "I am sure that you already came to the same conclusion I came to."

"You have to die," she stated while she had to keep herself from grimacing.

"Do you want to kill me now or do I get the time to straighten out a few things?" he asked.

"Spring is the deadline – no pun intended. Until late February you should be six feet under," she said.

"Very well," he muttered. "This makes things easier, I guess. Lynn should be able to deal with things like this, right? She helped greatly with your back after all, didn't she?"

"Y-you knew?" Kay asked as her deep green eyes widened. "And you said nothing?"

"I knew about the tattoo and if you think that I'd believe you that you fell from a tree and by coincidence, you ripped off the whole tattoo which you loathed more than anything else in this world? Kay, please give me a little bit more credit. If it had been an accident, you wouldn't have smiled like your birthday, midwinter and spring's festival were all on the same day, you know?"

"You are honestly too smart for your own good," she muttered as she lowered her head. "I assume that you don't want Rize to know about this, do you? You would have mentioned her if you wanted her to know about this whole issue. I can understand. I wouldn't want her to know either."

"Let's say it this way: while I love every single one of you with every fibre of my heart, she is the most important one to me since Eliza is dead … and I don't want to burden her with this as well. There might be a day she will hate me for giving the key to the Flame Alchemy to her and because I want that she is still able to forgive me after this day, she can't know," Berthold said. "And regarding Nessa and Rena … they are the survivors among us. Your mother would call them disgrace to the family because while the brilliancy doesn't burn in them as bright as it burns in you and me … but I merely don't wish you put another weight on their shoulders. Nessa has more than enough crap to deal with after your mother messed her up and twisted her into something Nessa wasn't meant to be and Serena is far too … innocent to carry such a weight. And Riza, she carries already more than enough, I believe."

"That leaves me, Lynn-Lynn and your dearest student, Roy-boy," Kay said with an impish smile.

"Since you share the flame of genius, you probably already know how I want this to happen. I think that I am going to die from an illness. Lynn surely knows a doctor who owes her a favour and I am sure that she isn't above using it. You shouldn't be even at home when … when it happens. You are going to make sure that the stupid boy comes home shortly before it happens. Everything else will depend on this," he said. "I hope that you can forgive me for dragging you into this mess, Kay. I didn't mean to."

She nodded slowly. "I am not even mad at you," she said. "I can tell that you feel as bad about it as I do … and I have known you long enough to tell that you downright hate this whole issue."

"I just feel sorry for Nessa," he muttered. "Out of all of you, she depended the most on me … she will need a long time to understand this … and a part of me wants to apologise for this selfishness."

"We are going to be the same," his niece said. "None of us ever wanted to be selfish – but in the end, we are both forced to act this way because if we wouldn't the price would get too high for us to pay it."

"When exactly were you going to tell me that you require my help for another dirty job?" Lynn asked as she closed the door behind her before she strolled over to the desk and slammed her palms onto the smooth surface. "You know that I need time to prepare things like this, Kay."

Some people called her an angel because of her beautiful face, the halo of silver hair and her sweet smile but both Kay and Berthold knew the truth about her: she was a demon in disguise. No matter how sweet the smile from her ruby lips might be it always came with an attitude rude enough to knock anyone dead. It was a miracle how Martin could still stand her (and Charles sometimes suggested that his buddy had to be a masochist to have Lynn as his girlfriend and one and only love). Martin claimed that the moment he had first heard her voice after entering the puberty, he had known that his life would never be the same again and that he loved it. Like Kay and Nerissa, Lynn was hotter than hell despite having no access to Flame Alchemy and yet she was as cool as Riza and Serena.

Berthold had often claimed that he had to blame Lynn for most of the grey hairs on his head because she was sweet and wild at the same time and that made her unpredictable. Kay sometimes said that Martin had to be blind for Lynn's flaws yet Riza had gotten the whole secret around this relationship: while Lynn was angel and demon at the same time, Martin mostly saw the bright side of her. Berthold often had his friend envying him for his talented third niece and so he always gave a cooperation with Lynn another try even though he sometimes wondered how long his poor heart would take this.

"We know," Berthold said. "How did you even get in, Lynn?"

"There is a really awesome invention called 'key', Uncle B. – maybe you should try it sometimes," she smirked as she sat down on the empty chair. "I assume that you have a serious problem. Hell, be happy that I am just the right one to deal with things like this, alright? I can take care of this."

* * *

By the time Riza and Nerissa reached the hotel room, they were too late to prevent the most awkward family reunion in the history of their family and in three hundred years, they had had quite a few very awkward family reunions. But it seems like the children were dealing with it just fine. Victoria was happily sitting between Laila and Nick while they gossiped with their grandfather and their friends about alchemy and science in general to make sure that Elicia would feel left out.

"Anyway, you really were in Monte Genève?" Laila asked interested. "This is _really_ far away…"

"I know, I know," her grandfather chuckled. "Kay called me crazy when I first mentioned that I was going to go this far but I had time and really, it was worth it. You see, it is a lot like Drachma considering the geography but there are far more mountains. I always thought that Serena would have liked it there … she used to be the Princess of Eternal Winter after all…"

"Monte Genève?" Riza asked as she closed the door behind her. "You really got around … dad."

He looked up with a smile. "It is great to see you well, Riza," he said calmly as he nodded at her. "You let your hair grow out. It fits you quite well if I may be this bold."

She unconsciously raised one hand and ran it through her hair that reached down to the mid of her back. "Thanks, I guess," she muttered. "You let your hair grow as well."

"Involuntarily," he muttered. "I was too busy with research and stuff like this to have it cut."

"I can do it as long as Min gives me her kunai," Cai said cheerfully. "I am really good at cutting hair. I always cut Min's hair when it gets too long and too troublesome for her."

"That might just have explained why she never lets her hair down," Nick stated drily but his eyes sparkled nearly as beautiful as a certain member of the Armstrong-family.

"My hair is not the problem," his friend came to Cai's defence. "I have to keep it in buns because it would get in the way during sparring or fighting in general if I would let it down, you know?"

"Excuses, excuses," Elicia chuckled. "You are just keeping it up because it can't keep up with Laila's."

For a second, everyone stared at the long golden mane on the other girl's head and once more, everyone thought that Laila's hair was called the most beautiful for a reason. It was wavy, never messy and fell always perfectly. The only other woman with similar hair was Serena and she always kept it tied together as well and therefore, her hair didn't count.

"Do you really want to let me down my hair for once?" Min Li asked with a huff. "Elicia, I want you to know that my hair can take on any challenge – even if Laila's hair is the one to challenge mine."

"Prove it," Cai giggled while he wondered how it was possible to change the topic this fast.

"Alright," Min Li said as she raised her hands to remove the silken ribbons that had kept the hair up during the competitions. Only half unbound, a bun fell down to her shoulder before the other followed this example. The girl rolled her eyes in a why-the-hell-am-I-doing-this-anyway-fashion before she loosened her hair and crossed her arms as her hair was finally untamed.

Slowly, everyone's mouth opened.

Min Li's silky black hair reached past her shoulders and the front part brushed her chest. The hair was neither too straight nor too curly – a perfect mixture. It looked incredibly smooth despite the fact that the ends looked slightly ragged from the kunai treatment every fourth month.

"Are you insane?" Nerissa asked as she remembered how to use her mouth to speak. "No offence, Laila, but honestly, Min Li? You have hair like this and keep it in these buns all the time? Tell me – don't you want to catch a nice boy's eyes and get a handsome boyfriend?"

"Oh, I don't think that Miss Wei has any troubles in this field," Berthold remarked lightly. "This one boy … Jing or something like this … was _pretty_ _much_ exited to see her and had no issues with showing this."

For a moment, it was hard to tell if Min Li's face or Victoria's hair sported the brighter shade of red.

"Well, I see how it is," the slightly frozen and more than upset voice of Serena resounded in the silence that was suddenly there. The blonde stood in the doorway, paler than usual and with a strange expression of bitterness and hurt in her eyes. "After all we have been through I am obviously not worth to be informed of important events. I am impressed, Riza and Nerissa. I didn't think that anyone would be able to trick me again after all if have seen. Too bad that you two proved me wrong."

"R-Rena," Nerissa said and suddenly, there was a pleading tone in her voice. "Believe me … it is not the way you think it is. Please, don't be that upset…"

"You are telling me to be happy about this?" her sister asked with an unusually shrill voice. "You are telling me that it is not the way I think it is? Are you trying to play me for a fool again, Nerissa Carina Hawkeye Hamilton? Honestly, I expected more from you – not that you would stoop lower than our late mother! I am so fucking disappointed in you – you wouldn't believe it if you knew how much I _hate_ you right now, Nerissa! I fucking hate you!"

For a moment, everyone was silent. It was rare for Serena to scream. It was even rarer for her to curse. And right now, she had done both and as the first tears slipped down her face, she turned around and ran away with a face that screamed how betrayed she felt.

_"Damn,"_ Riza said softly as she ignored her father's scandalised face. "I am going after her – you are staying here and god helps the one who leaves before I come back."

Before anyone could say anything, she was up and ran after her fleeing cousin. Riza had been close to all of her cousins at one time or another and she had been especially close to Serena right after Berthold's so-called death and so she knew just too well how much it had pained Serena to lose her uncle and this explained why she felt betrayed now. For Serena it had probably looked like Riza and Nerissa had either helped Berthold to fake his death or that they had known at least. Serena easily felt betrayed which was only natural given her personal history and the betrayal by her mother so many years ago – and Nerissa's departure hadn't made things easier for Serena to trust someone either.

"Serena, just stop!" Riza yelled as she sprinted down an abandoned alleyway. "At least listen to me!"

Her cousin looked over her shoulder and her eyes were colder than a winter in the Briggs. "I don't think that I want to hear another lie, Riza," she said coldly. "I heard enough lies in my life, you know? I have just one question – did you laugh about me behind my back? You comforted me when he _died_. Did you laugh at me with Lynn and Kay? **Did** you, Riza?"

"You know me better than that," Riza said as she tried to calm her hysteric cousin down. "You know that I would never make fun of your feelings, Serena. I never make fun of anyone's feelings." She raised her hands to symbolise her innocence. "I never made fun of Alex for loving Kay. I never taunted you for anything before and now you seriously believe that I ever betrayed you like this?"

"You, Kay, Lynn and even Nerissa are all the same," Serena chocked out hatefully. "You always saw me as the little girl who was too stupid to take care of herself. You never trusted me with anything! First it was always Kay who you relied on – later on, it was Helena you shared all your stupid little secrets with. And once she came back and you overcame you fear, you even took Nerissa from me!"

"We never wanted to burden you with anything!" Riza yelled back. "You were the youngest of us – you basically still are and we wanted to protect you! We didn't want you to break the same way we broke one after the other! And while I don't know why Nessa kept things to herself, I am pretty sure that she just didn't want to hurt you any further! All of us were heavily damaged by the things Reine did to us! We were afraid what another mental injury might do to you, Serena. We didn't want you to snap the way Nessa did, can you understand?"

"To me, it sounds just like another stupid excuse you would make, Riza," Serena said harshly.

"Back then, we loved each other more than we loved ourselves and to take the burden to allow at least you to breathe freely and to be the teenager all of us wanted to be was something all of us wanted, Serena. You often blame Kay for the fact that you are still easily intimidated because, yeah, she was one hell of a girl. You still call Lynn cunning and treacherous because she lied to you to make sure that you would be fine. Honestly, we all took the pain to let you have a good life."

"I never asked you to protect me! I can deal with my issues by myself!"

"It wasn't a matter of what you were asking for! Sometimes you need to do something even though you know that someone will hate you for it!" Riza hissed. "And for your information – until some hours ago, neither Nessa nor I knew that he was still alive! He trusted Lynn and Kay with the secret – not us!"

"But what would you have done if Kay would be in my place? What would you have done if she had been the lucky one and I had died?" the younger woman screeched as she cried bitter tears. "You would have told her because you fucking trusted her more than you would ever trust me! Because she was supposed to be the strong one … the one who could deal with **everything** while I always was the weak, the fragile one! Everyone believed that I would be the first to die but I would like to remind you that I am still around while they died! How were they stronger than they died and I lived?"

For the first time, Riza felt her age and suddenly, she felt incredibly tired. "Because sometimes, Serena, it isn't a matter of strength but a matter of luck … and everyone always said that you were born lucky," she said softly. "Yes, I admit that I would have told Kay when she would have been still alive. But this isn't because I trusted her more than I trust you, Serena. This is because Kay was someone I never could keep a secret from. She could see straight through me – and today, I can see straight through Nessa this is why she never bothers to keep a secret from me. We haven't forgotten about you, Rena, because you are still an important member of our family. We merely focused on other things first."

"And let me guess that these 'other things' were Roy and Lawrence," the blue-eyed woman said bitterly as she glared at her cousin. "You have to be kidding me if you say that I was born lucky, Riza. If I had been born lucky, my love stories wouldn't be tragedies. Hakon died and my love to Max is doomed to end one-sided. You caught Roy when we were still pretty young, Kay had Charles since the earliest days of our childhood, Martin would have died hundred times for Helena and Lawrence adores Nerissa in a way that scares me when I think about it because it is nearly an obsession."

"Serena, don't tell me that you are really this blind," Riza groaned. "Max loves you and you are even denser than I originally thought if you really didn't notice this. Do you honestly think that he would spend this much time with you if he didn't? Believe me, he is really busy at work and sometimes it seems like a miracle to me that he always manages to find the time to go on a date with you."

Serena fell to her knees as her hands came up to cover her face. "Am I really this blind?" she asked. "No, the question should rather be if I am really this selfish. I never questioned how he found the time…"

Riza slowly walked over to her and patted her shoulder. "You are a fool," she said. "But you are a fool in love and this excuses many things."

"No … suddenly, I feel with Nessa," the younger woman whispered. "She had lost who she was and couldn't even understand while her heart was this broken because she couldn't remember. She always rejected the love she was given because she was afraid of being shattered again because once love went wrong, she lost her faith in it. Everything became empty words to her and yet she managed to carry on the way she always did. And what did I? I believed to know that everything is the next end's beginning while I knew who I am from the start and even though love never disappointed me as badly as it disappointed her. Nothing can excuse this, Riza, nothing at all."

"Please, Serena, torturing yourself all over again won't help," Riza said gently. "Just let go."

"I can't because … if I run now the way Nerissa ran, I will never be silenced, will I?"

"Nerissa was silenced as well because when she ran, she ran away from herself and her own pain because she refused to look into her own darkness," the older cousin said softly.

"Still … all these years spent in vain … wasted time … I gained nothing at all out of this," the maybe not so lucky woman whispered. "All is lost, Riza, this time…"

"Hope always remains," Riza said softly. "And as long as there is hope, there is a reason to fight."

"You sound like Lynn."

"She was there when I went through this," Riza said. "There is always a place next to the sun where we belong to and because you tend to forget things like this … love will conquer everything."


	23. 187: Back to the start

**Back to the start**

* * *

"This means danger," Berthold stated after no one had returned to the room. "Serena is the most dangerous when she feels attacked by anything – and so I'd say that this sounds really, really bad for us."

He knew this better than most people because he had known Serena since she had been a little child and despite the fact that he had been gone for a long time, the basic facts about his niece had never changed. She had stayed the shy and calm girl with the potential to erupt like a volcano once she felt betrayed or once she gave in to her wrath which she hardly did.

"I know," Nerissa said and her eyes and her voice both betrayed how guilty she felt. She felt like she had forgotten about her sister which she hadn't. The only thing she could be blamed for was that she hadn't told Serena about her suspicion that Berthold might be still alive and she hadn't told her little sister about this because she had been worried that she would be wrong and that she would raise false hope in Serena which would led to just another disappointment for the younger blonde.

"Serena will forgive you," Riza said as she sat miserably on Victoria's bed with her hands in front of her face. "She always forgives you. She will hate me for the rest of my life because she believes that I knew just as long as Kay and Lynn knew and that I made fun of her sadness after Dad's death."

"A lot happened today," Owen said as everything was silent for a moment. "And while I can understand that everyone is worried for Miss Serena which I am as well … I still think that we should rest now. I will be in my room if anyone requires my assistance but even though it might sound selfish: I have another important competition tomorrow. Good night, guys."

"Sleep well, Owen," Victoria said and for a second, her eyes were softer and more loving than ever before. "And I wish you the best for tomorrow."

"Likewise, Vicky," he said with an affectionate smile before he disappeared.

Berthold chuckled softly before he sighed. "Just like Kay and Charles back in the days…" he muttered.

"Interesting, isn't it?" his daughter asked. "I am just grateful that none of my kids takes after Lynn in the relationship aspect since I am still wondered how Martin could stand her all the time…"

"Well, she got kinder with him once she accepted that she was in love with him," the first flame alchemist shrugged. "It was a typical thing for her: as long as she was in denial, she was rough and mean but as soon as she accepted that she cared, she got nicer … though I believe that Roy might still have some scars from when she pushed him out of the window and straight into the roses…"

"She didn't!" Nick said as his hands came up to cover his face. "She really threw him out the window?"

"For her, liquorice was always **serious** business," Riza said with a little shrug. "And he stole it. For her, it was a perfectly fine reason to push him out the window. Kay and I reacted too slowly to prevent it."

"Well, Kay was the one who grabbed the fourth edition of **Alchemy Today** and slammed it onto Roy's and Maes' head when they walked in on her changing…" Berthold said to stay fair. "And you threw a vase after Charles when he came to nag you because of Roy … I believe you stopped possessing vases soon afterwards because you always threw one when you felt particularly annoyed with something."

"I stopped having vases because Kay always smashed one when she came to visit and because Laila always made them fall down when she was a toddler," his daughter said in an attempt to defend herself. "It was dangerous to have them around her when she was a toddler. She could have gotten hurt."

"And what did Serena throw when she was annoyed?" Nerissa chuckled as she crossed her arms.

"Whatever was in reach," Berthold replied with a grin. "She once got me with a hairbrush … I had to go to the hospital to get some stitches. It was _embarrassing_."

* * *

Serena stumbled through the darkness before she finally collapsed onto the ground. She hated to feel like this. She hated the way everyone thought that she had it all … and how everyone forgot that she had lost a lot as well. Nerissa often complained that she lived in a golden cage. Serena had no issues with this. She wasn't caged by another person. She was her own cage. In her childhood, she had build a strong castle around herself to protect everything she was and could be but by now she had to accept that it felt so empty living behind these walls. These castle walls were no longer her protection. If she was to tumble or if she was to fall no one would hear her screaming out her pain behind these castle walls because there was no one there at all, behind all of these castle walls.

To the eyes of most people, she was a fortress without a gate. Strong and eternal like the Briggs, forever protected by the winter around her. She had gained everything with little loss – or so it seemed. In her apartment in the best part of town, she had a maid and a butler … to most people, it seemed like a dream come true but to her, it was a nightmare. She had a great and fast car – the one she had wanted since she had been a child but the price she had paid for all of this had been too high. And no one understood the pain and the changes she had been forced to make.

Her vision had been clouded by awards and praises but if anyone could see her soul, he would see how agonised she was.

The betrayal – and she would never call it anything but this – had hurt her deeper than anyone could imagine. While she would eventually manage to forgive Nerissa and Riza for keeping such a secret from her, she would never forgive Kay and Lynn because they had lied to her – not with words but with their tears. Serena trembled in flaming anger about this while the cold ice of hatred surrounded her once more when she thought of the tears she had cried for no reason.

For the record … she didn't care about what other people thought about her. Her career was based on this … most other people would care but the head of security couldn't be some frail little thing that would bow too easily. She wasn't Kay and sometimes she wished that she could be the red-haired queen of Forgive and Forget. She wasn't Lynn who had searched for revenge and once she had reached it, she had slept like a baby at night. She was sure as hell not like Nerissa who had accepted betrayal as a natural part of the flow of life.

No, Serena wasn't like her sisters. She couldn't forgive. She never had been one for revenge. And she had never accepted anything without trying to change it first.

When she had started to rebuild herself, she had been nothing but a little child inside and with all the years that had passed, she had added more and more protection around her soul … she refused to be shattered the way Nerissa had been shattered and she refused to break the way Kay had broken herself with her damned pride.

And even though Serena had made a castle out of used to be a house most people didn't see the castle through the walls around it and so she smiled until it crumbled.

She heard the footsteps but for the first time in an incredibly long time, she lacked the strength to get up. It was pathetic how easily such a betrayal had robbed her from all her power. Usually, she would have raised her head and whoever had tried to sneak up on her would have met the full force of Serena's Stare of the Doom but somehow, she saw no reason to fight back this time. In end, she shared one thing with her twin sister – the belief that fate would win in the end and that it was pointless to fight back once the time to leave had come.

"So it is," she muttered as she heard how a knife was unsheathed. She knew the sound better than she knew her own heartbeat because it was the sound that had made her feel save for so many years because the fighter with the best aim with knives was Nerissa and Nerissa would have changed hell into heaven to make sure that her sisters were fine. This time, the sound was different because it wasn't one of Nerissa's knives which was unsheathed – it was the knife that meant death instead of protection and yet, Serena found herself unable to care about it at all.

"What for a pathetic sight," a deep voice drawled as the man stared down at her. "The glorious head of security … reduced to a little child that cowers on the ground, unable to do anything."

"Where is the point in fighting back when there is nothing left to fight for?" she asked tiredly. "So … if I may ask you to get over with this a little bit quicker because I have somewhere else to be."

And then, suddenly, everything changed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the knife coming closer before it suddenly fell to the ground as someone kicked it out of the attacker's hand. Serena only saw the shoe of her saviour but that was more than enough because she knew these shoes – and better yet, she therefore also knew her saviour: Max Knox had come to save her.

To Max Knox, Serena Ann Hawkeye Hamilton was the girl that no one had ever really known. He had been at the same school as her and her friends and whenever he had greeted her on the hallways, she had been too shy to say hello. Back then, it had seemed to him as if she was waiting for someone to take her hand and wake her up from the daydream she was living in.

And even today, he wished that his heart was always on her mind because her face was always in his head. And whether she would forget him or not, he had come too far to turn around now. He was in love and he knew it because he had to be in love to go out at night to look at her after Owen Johnson had called him to inform that Serena was currently strolling around in town. And the worst thing was that Max had stopped to care if he had a chance. He would never give up on her and leave her alone with the demons of her past. If she would finally say that she liked him as well, he would be incredibly happy but even if she would never say this, he would still be in love.

She was the kind of girl no one would ever forget because she was too much of a princess to be forgotten by anyone. She was a mystery that no one had ever been able to solve. He knew that she often worked double-shifts just to buy her pretty new clothes but besides this, she often consisted merely of cheap wine and faded dreams. He knew more about her than most people because he had sharp eyes. He had been her personal doctor for years and so he knew the story behind every single scar that adorned her body.

Sometime he caught himself wishing that she would be more like her only remaining sister because while Nerissa often was a complete bitch who ignored her doctors' orders, she valued her life enough to fight back. Every injury Nerissa had suffered had been unavoidable while many of Serena's could have been prevented if she had fought back.

It made him angry to watch how she didn't care if she lived or died and a part of him wanted to stay out of this because if she wanted to die, who was he to keep her alive? But in the end, he was too selfish to let her go as long as there was still time left and he stopped the knife before he knocked out the man in mere seconds because he was just too angry to care right now.

Sapphire eyes stared up at him and he grabbed her shoulders before he pulled her back on her feet. "That was a close call," he stated simply as if she hadn't known it as well.

"M-Max?" she asked in the shy voice he usually found cute but hated right now.

And so it was time for her to fall into his arms again because it had been too long since she had allowed anyone to hold her while she cried bitter tears of remorse and anger. To him, she had always been an angel and so he patted her hair that glowed like a halo in the faint light.

"C'mon," he said softly. "That was enough action for tonight, don't you think?"

As long as she was standing, he would never go down even though he wasn't much of a fighter. As long as she was breathing, he would never give up on her and he would always protect her. As long as she allowed him to stay, he wouldn't be seen leaving her while he only waited for her to say that she liked him as well.

"I am such a fool," she muttered as she rested her forehead on his shoulder as he escorted her back to the hotel where she was currently staying. "I only hurt myself and others…"

"That's no reason to give up without a fight," he scolded gently. "I know what you are doing to yourself, Serena, and as your doctor, I highly advise you to stop this before it really gets you killed. You know what Nerissa and your parents would be going through if you would die."

"Nerissa stopped caring about me a long time ago. Nowadays, she only cares about Kay and Lynn."

"Who are both gone since many years."

"Yeah … but that's why she would go through hell to protect Victoria. The little brat it the only reminder of Lynn and Kay Nerissa still has … and she wants to keep her alive."

* * *

Jade was still awake when Nerissa returned to their shared hotel room and as the black-haired woman lowered the book she had been reading, the blonde knew that she was in of an interrogation that would put everything that Martin had ever done to shame.

"Where have you been?"

"I met up with some of my good friends. I didn't know that I was supposed to tell you, **mom,**" Nerissa said as she longingly stared at her soft bed. After the events of the day (and the fact that she had been beaten twice), she wanted nothing more than to go to sleep.

"Don't go all bitchy on me," Jade ordered strictly. "I had Roy and Lawrence stalking me the whole evening because they had the strange idea that I might know where you and Riza disappeared to. And two hours ago, I had a panicking Owen on the phone who wanted to know if I know where Serena is. And so is the answer that I would greatly appreciate to be informed properly when something special and secret is going on because most people nag me and not you."

"Long story," the blonde groaned as she collapsed on her bed. "To keep it short: my uncle deemed the moment fitting to return and beat me up before I somehow managed to tie him up and to drag him to Min Li's and Vicky's room where Min guarded him. I informed Riza and we went to the room after I was defeated by my mother. Serena barged in, misunderstood everything and ran away. Riza went after her, talked Serena and tried to fill her in according to the truth but Rena went all Lynn on her and is currently missing in action."

"…I am probably not the right person to suggest things like this but did you ever try to make a few appointments with a family counsellor? It might help you greatly."

"Seeing that your grandfather threw your mother through a window, I am not sure if it would be smart to follow your advice," Nerissa snorted. "You see … as a family, we make sense because we don't make sense. In no normal family, you would find as many powerful alchemists and other brilliant people as you find in ours. We have geniuses who never picked up alchemy like Riza and we have people like Vicky who excel at nearly everything they try – including finding a fitting partner for life. And we have people like Serena who never see how lucky they are."

"Don't you feel sorry for her?" Jade asked as she carefully closed her book. "I mean … she is your sister and from what I know about her, even I feel sorry for her and I had my fair share of misfortune as well, Nerissa."

"Serena is like Nick … they are the people who come through when it counts," the golden-haired alchemist said softly. "Well, Nick lacks the ability to misunderstand every little thing that happens in a way that some might think that she **wants** to misunderstand everything. Anyway, what I am trying to say is that Serena would go crazy when anyone would pity her."

"Most of us are like this," Jade admitted. "I broke Roy's nose once because he treated me like a baby all the time – especially after I was kidnapped…"

"How was that for you?" Nerissa asked. "I never was kidnapped … so I don't know how it feels."

"The worst thing was the darkness," she muttered softly as she shuddered. "The never-ending darkness that made it impossible to tell if it was day or night or how much time had already passed … I am still afraid of the darkness when I am alone to tell the truth."

* * *

"…and before today's swimming finals, we have a really special guest in our studio!" the over-enthusiast called Timms was on a roll. "Mr Johnson, why don't you tell us something about your over-whelming success during this event … I mean … you are on par with Miss Wei up to now…"

"Min is a great friend of mine," the young man said amused. "And considering my success … hard work usually makes you gain something. Min and I both trained hard and so we are both happy for the other one's success – especially since she is my girlfriend's best friend."

"Since you already mentioned her … how do you view your girlfriend's success?" Timms asked.

"Vicky is a great girl and I love her very much," the air alchemist said amused. "I highly admire her hard work and the way she never gives up before she tried everything to achieve her goal. She is such a wonderful and amazing person that I sometimes doubt that she really exists. She is nearly perfect."

"You were seen cheering for Laila Hawkeye during her archery final half an hour ago instead of for your girlfriend who was running her relay semi-final … what was the reason for this?" Jane Stevens asked. Most of the scars on her face had already faded away and were merely fine lines which were hardly seen under the hint of make-up on her face. Her hair had been dyed a shade of brown darker than before and her lips were nearly crimson while her eyelashes were black as the night. She wore a dark dress with a high collar to hide the bandages around her neck where the skin was still sensitive.

"Vicky threw me out of the stadium because she was worried that Laila might not get all the support she deserved," the young state alchemist said with a soft chuckle. "And since Nick and Elicia both were in the stadium to cheer for Vicky, I followed the orders I had gotten from my girlfriend."

"What is your comment on the rumours regarding you and Miss Wei?" Timms asked.

"That Min isn't my type at all," he said amused. "She is too strong to be protected by anyone and so I think I'll stick with Vicky. I think that loyalty is supposed to be important everytime."

"I agree," Stevens smiled. "I also apologise for asking these questions, Johnson. The thing is that we were ordered to ask them because apparently, the civilians are interested in things like this."

"No big deal, Stevens," he said amused. "I figured out as much, you know?"

"Well, since you are so relaxed about this … read out the next question, beautiful flower."

Owen narrowly dodged the book Stevens threw at her partner in nearly every misery. "Hey!"

"Sorry, Johnson," the woman huffed, "but this guy is one of the most bothersome things in my life."

"Still in denial, princess of my heart?" Timms asked with an adorable little pout.

"Oh, shut up!" she ordered while she brushed back a strand of her hair. "Well, Johnson, what do you say at the topic of Victoria cheating on you with Cai Yao?"

For a second it sounded like the man was choking on something before he looked up and it became obvious that he was laughing as tears streamed down his face. "That was a good one, Stevens," he said amused. "Victoria is like every other person out of my friends an extremely loyal one. So I can only consider this as one of the best jokes I've ever heard."

* * *

Meanwhile, Victoria was musing if she had to get her hearing checked or if she had understood what Serena had just asked. Usually, Victoria's hearing was quite good even though if it was not on par with Serena's but this time, she highly doubted that she had heard correctly.

"You are asking me for permission to get married?" the red-haired girl asked with a frown.

"Vicky, in three years, you are going to be Lady Hawkeye whether you like it or not," the blonde said as the wind played with her wild hair. "And while some of the old guys with their dusty brains might not accept you because of your youth, I am going to respect you not only as fellow alchemist but also as the head of my family."

"But aren't you old enough to make your own decisions?" Victoria asked. "And by the way, it is okay with me. Who am I to keep you away from your happiness anyway?" she mumbled to herself.

"I want to take his name," Serena replied. "I was a stain on our name long enough. I can't do this anymore, you know?"

"You have to be kidding me!"

"Don't worry, my loyalty stays with the family. I just don't want to burden you. It was easier for me when Lynn held your position because I was less stupid back then … I am sorry for being a terrible bother to you all the time, Victoria."

"You don't understand what I mean, Serena. I never saw you or anyone as a stain."

"Nice try, Victoria, but I know the truth; have it known for a very long time. I only hope that you can forgive me one day because I wasn't the aunt you and the others deserve."

"You have my blessings and believe me, there is nothing you did that I could scorn you for."

"Thank you very much, Victoria." Serena bowed her head and walked away. For a moment, the girl stared after her before she slipped into her jacket and left the locker room as well.

"Tori," Min Li said seriously as she stepped away from her car. "You look troubled. What happened?"

"Serena is getting married."

"Where is the problem? Weddings are always good and the food is usually really great."

"She takes Max' name … saying that she's a disgrace to us."

"She is **awesome** … and far from being a disgrace to anyone. And honestly, aren't most people of your family a little bit crazy anyway?" Min Li asked as they drove away from the stadium.

"Exactly my opinion … but who am I to act against her wish?"

"Well, you **are** her head of family…"

"I haven't met the elders yet," Victoria admitted. "My mother, Lynn, used to curse about them all the time … and that worries me a little bit…"

"If they dare to bother you, I am going to beat them up, Tori."

"I'll keep that offer in mind, Min," she said softly. "But you didn't seem surprised."

"Well, most people here in Amestris where everything is supposed to be prim and proper get married when a kid is on the way," the Xingese teenager shrugged. "I figured out that it was only a matter of time until everyone else would figure it out but right now, I somehow doubt that Rena already knows."

Victoria's purple eyes suddenly got huge. "Pregnant?" she asked with a hollow voice. "Honestly?"

"I felt a second chi system inside of her and as long as she didn't forget to mention that she's a homunculus, my guess would be that she's pregnant, yes," her friend shrugged. "And since this new chi system only appeared a few days ago … well, it made sense to me."

"Why didn't your parents or Cai and Fu said anything yet?" the redhead groaned. "I'd have liked to be warned a little bit earlier, you know?"

"Don't forget that I come from two royal bloodlines, Tori," the driver smirked. "And ever since I was a little kid, my ability to sense another person's chi was stronger than most people's … and back in Xing, I was often asked if someone was pregnant … so I learned to feel even the lowest amount a life." She shrugged. "And unlike all of them, I didn't leave the bodyguard academy early. I served full time there – like Uncle Chao while my mother was allowed to leave many years early."

"And there you learned awesome stuff like this?" the younger girl was fascinated – but then again, most things regarding life and medicine fascinated Victoria.

"Most people would call it an invasion of privacy," Min Li commented drily. "Believe me, most Xingese bodyguards would make formidable stalkers…"

* * *

"You have told Victoria before you told me?" Nerissa asked as she pouted. "I am seriously insulted…"

And this was how she was: she forgave easily when she cared for someone and despite everything, she was in too deep to let go of another relationship without one hell of a fight – and she was cut out to fight. One reason why she had pitied Jean Havoc after hearing that he had been paralysed once was that she wouldn't even imagine how it was to be confined to bed, to be caged into her own skin.

"I am sorry, Nessa," Serena muttered as she looked down.

"Well, congratulations, Serena," Berthold said calmly. "At least one wedding there I can hold this really sappy speech I wanted to hold since the day Kay and Charles started dating."

"I know," the woman said as she hugged him. "I am so sorry."

Once more, the door was slammed open but this time, it was Abigail who stood there with a wide grin on her face.

"Princess Abigail made her appearance," he stated.

"Bert!" she said as she laughed carefree as before. "I heard the rumour that you finally came home again and I wanted to check. We all missed you terribly."

"I am glad to hear this," he chuckled. "I heard a lot about you while I was on my journey. And from what I heard, you are quite the star these days, Abby."

"Thank you, honey," she said teasingly. "I missed your way to joke as well."

"I hoped as much," he smiled. "To be dead in the eyes of the world is a lonely and depressing thing."

* * *

Review Answers:

Sira-the-Awesome (chapter 20):_So cute! So cute! So cute! Eeeeeeeeee!_

**Victoria:** Thanks. The whole cast is in fluff mode right now. Well, Serena doesn't know it yet.  
_Another awesome chapter, Ava! I'm just amazed, as always!_  
**Ava:** Thanks. I am currently a little bit depressed cause my foot is acting up as well.  
_I would like a name, however. That would be awesome. Who is the man? What is his name? Who exactly is he? Maybe I missed something, but all I have right now is that he's and older generation of the family and Nessa and Co. knew him._  
**Ava:** Were you surprised at his identity?  
_On another note, are there going to be more babies on the scene? I wanna see another cutie! Serena, Give me one! Or maybe you, Min Li?_  
**Min Li**: I reassign this task to Serena. I am only seventeen and in no mood to ruin myself.  
_Oh, and where is Olivier in all this? Did I miss something?_  
**Olivier:** I am cheering for Alex and Bendix cause I was too lazy to apply for anything.  
_Hope this gives you some very unsubtle hints as to what I want..._  
**Ava:** Olivier will have to get to work soon again  
_By the way, are you going to answer reviews again? _  
**Ava:** Obviously  
_So, Goddess of Literature, sleep well and update __**soon!**_  
**Ava:** I can't sleep right now cause of my dumb foot


	24. 188: Ardelia's Children I

**Ardelia's Children**

* * *

The way Jade was pacing around in the room made Roy nervous but for obvious reasons, he stayed silent and stared straight ahead. The sport events were over and normality had returned to Amestris even though Min Li was constantly on edge while Nerissa was more paranoid than before. And Jade had claimed the biggest room in the chancellor's building for herself because she was doing some kind of complicate and elaborate investigation right now and none of her own rooms was big enough to contain all the files she was using for her research – and the security in Roy's building was better as well which made it actual logical for her to use one of his rooms.

"Are you finished since you are already pacing around?" Phil snapped after watching her for a few minutes. "As much as you would like this: the world doesn't wait for you, Jadelina."

"I just came to the conclusion that I've no answer," Jade stated while her eyebrows furrowed. "I've been searching for one since I took this room for my research … and the answer is that there is no answer. No answer to the question why Envy wanted to kill Serena in first place … because Serena knew nothing about the whole thing. And so I wonder who told that bastard that she was a good victim to start with – since it only got Lynn to see everything in bigger contexts."

"Jade," Roy said seriously. "You are going to hate me now but … you're a genius."

She glared at him before she threw a pen at him that stayed stuck in the doorframe. "Watch your tongue, Mustang," she huffed as she pushed her glasses further up her nose. "The point is that someone told Envy to kill both Nerissa and Serena … and this someone wasn't Father if you ask me." She sighed deeply as she toyed around with the black ribbon she had used to keep back her hair. "And after talking with Riza and Nerissa, I would say that this someone is a part of the Hawkeye-family."

Roy frowned as he locked the door. "If Envy was ordered to murder Nerissa, how is she still alive?"

"Unlike Lynn and Kay, Nessa can switch off her heart and her head during a fight," Phil shrugged. "That gives her natural advantage against Envy who relied mainly on his shape shifting ability to confuse his opponents before he murdered them like this."

"Nerissa knows more about the whole thing than she told me," Jade said softly as she walked over to the window to stare onto the dark town. "I've a feeling for things like this by now and when I asked her, she hesitated for a second … and that makes me sure that she knows something."

Riza who had been silent up to now nodded slowly. "There is only one case where it would make sense to get Nessa, Kay, Lynn and Serena out of the way … if someone wants a complete reconstruction of the family … if someone wants to elect a new head of family instead of going with the usual inheritance thing we used for the past two hundred years."

"You studied our family history," her father said drily as he stared into the dancing flames of the fireplace. "I am trying to remember a case where such a plan was a success, well, it usually failed but I can remember that my great-great-grandmother managed to force the family into an election which she won … and that's the reason why Reine, no, _Rain_ became head of family after our father's death."

"Are you sure that this is the right trace?" Roy asked with a doubt laced voice. "We can't afford to follow the wrong path … not if so many lives and fates are in danger. I won't sacrifice my children to some vendetta between members of the Hawkeye-family."

"Dear Ardelia, you surely grew up, Roy," Berthold sighed as he crossed his arms just the way Nerissa usually did it. "Ardelia was said great-great-grandmother I mentioned earlier," he added before he returned his attention to the flames. "Anyway, Nerissa is pretty strong not as strong as I am but still. I am only worried that she might lose herself once more. She doesn't deserve such a fate. She came too far to lose it now if you ask me … so we need to find the culprit before she does."

"Who would have chances to overthrow the current leader of the family anyway?" Phil asked. "I mean … Victoria is a star, right? Everyone loves her because she embodies everything Amestris was meant to be a long time ago. I can imagine that overthrowing her is harder than overthrowing … Nerissa."

"On the paper, Victoria won't get the position until she is eighteen," Riza said darkly. "And I fear that whoever is behind this mess is getting nervous. He has only three years to kill off Nerissa, Serena, me and my father … oh, and afterwards, it would be on to kill Victoria, Nick, Helena and Rachel as well. Laila is surprisingly save because Kay was disowned which excludes her from the position anyway."

"My guess would been a descendant of Ardelia's brother – the one she overthrew back than. I heard from grandmother that the guy went crazy and tried multiple times to regain the control … not for the responsibilities the head of family has but for the raw power and the cash," Berthold said while his nose was crunched in complete disgust. "The thing is that Ardelia took the power to prevent the complete corruption of our family and brought us back to what we used to be: scientists."

"The madness of a few wasn't supposed to be our end," Riza added. "Nerissa was supposed to be named after her and I even believe that in the first official documents, she was called Ardelia before my aunt traded Fire Alchemy for Water Alchemy and Nerissa was more fitting for her oldest child."

"Nerissa, the Goddess of Oceans and the Sea," Jade muttered. "Of course, it makes sense … especially since your sister intended to form her daughters to be weapons, am I correct, Grandmaster Hawkeye?"

"You are truly your father's child, Miss Jadelina," the older alchemist smiled. "I believe you dislike the description 'genius' just as much as your father does and still I think that you came further with your hard work than the flame of brilliancy brought me and my relatives."

"There is no progress without hard work," Phil said aggressively while he wrapped one arm around his sister. "It is the way of our family to fight no matter how bad the situation is and up to now, Jade was only defeated once when it counted."

"Well, I looked pretty weak against Bradley. His speed was … impressive even for me."

"You had a broken foot during that fight," Roy remarked while he looked at his cousin. "You really should stop to blame yourself for every little mistake you make, Jade."

* * *

She felt his presence just when she thought about going home again. Her habit to take long walks under the moon had gotten her into trouble many times before but up to now, she had never seen a reason to worry about anything because she had always been top of whatever she had done. Still, her whole body went still and she stared at the tree ahead of her while her mind went on autopilot and devised the fastest escape route for her.

"It has been a while that I caught you out of your room at midnight," the calm voice behind her said and she turned around to face him. "Jing," she stated drily.

"Ah, you look like you are considering the fastest way to murder me, Min," he said amused as he closed the gap between them. "You really shouldn't waste your time with pointless hatred, princess…"

She glared at him. "You took your time to confront me," she stated darkly while she took a step back.

Between them, everything had been complicated from the very start and now that she was all alone without any friends to support her, Min Li took the time to look into his eyes while his fists shook next to his body and because he usually had a better control over his body, she already knew what he was going to say. She should have known. She should have known that he had only been her friend to leave her behind with a broken heart once he saw the need to move on. In her eyes, there was no need for him to linger in her presence anymore because she had heard all the excuses which he would use in the next few minutes and to tell the truth, she had heard them frequently enough to know them by heart. She didn't even wish for another explanation because she had read the answers she wanted in his eyes and though it hurt, she wouldn't cry this time.

"Min…" he whispered as he tried to put one hand onto her shoulder. "I am sorry for everything. I kinda lost my goal from my sight and I won't tell you any lies now to save from self-esteem from complete destruction because this would be something really dumb to do."

"Don't even try," she said as she raised her hand at him. "I knew that this would happen one day because I saw things like this at least a hundred times when we were younger. And … please, don't worry about me. I will be fine. I learned how to live and dream without you around … and I surely will learn how to take the pain within my stupid, rebellious heart. I can even smile without you now."

"Min, you were never supposed to learn anything of this," he said with a strange harshness in his voice as he glared at her. "Just like I never learned how to take another chance without you around to tell me what to do, you were supposed to miss our love just as much I miss it. To learn to walk alone, Min, was never a part of your curriculum!"

She exhaled slowly. "You left without a trace of hesitation when you were offered a place in the capital and after you left me, what was there left for me to loose? I won't cry now and I won't ask you to talk it over with me now. You make your decisions and right now, you don't have to fake compassion with me. I will be alright because I always was. Don't claim that you walked within my shoes, Jing, because we both know that I used them up on the way to nowhere."

"What are you even thinking that I want to say?" he huffed.

"That you fell for another one," she said bravely as the pain ran through her veins.

"And where did you get this stupid idea from?" he huffed. "I said that I'd always love you, Min, and as long as I didn't mess up quite a lot of definitions, I am supposed to be still in love with you, princess."

"What the hell are you even talking about?" she hissed. "I think that you caused more than enough damage, my dear friend. You really should stop this before I cam going to kill you … because no one is allowed to mess with my heart and to live to tell the story. We Yaos and Weis are proud people … and we never allow something like this."

* * *

Nerissa smiled as she jumped but her eyes widened as she missed the rope and crashed down to land on her back. She heard the sickening crack as her bones broke and tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at the dark shadow on the higher store of the empty building. "You won this time," she said as she coughed blood and yet, her smile was unaffected. "But in spite of winning this battle and paralysing me permanently, you won't win this war."

"For somehow who spend many years rebelling against your fate, you have surely a lot of faith into your allies," the man said darkly. "And remembering the way Kay and Helena both fell under a breeze, it really shouldn't surprise me that you fall even faster. You will be caged into your own body … I like that. I really like the way you clipped your own things, little hawk."

"Any cage can be broken and any limitation can be overcome," she replied smoothly as the words on her side suddenly seemed to burn as the family motto of the Hawkeye-clan resurfaced in her mind: 'Brilliancy can overcome everything'. Nerissa had been sixteen when she had written these words onto her side just like most members of her family had worn a tattoo at one point.

"You know a lot about cages of any kind, I will give you that but with these injuries it should be obvious that you won't stand up another time, little hawk," the man said amused. "There she lies, the great and wonderful Nerissa, former best fighter among her equally pathetic sisters…"

"You are wrong," she said as she folded her arms over her chest. "I was never the best. I might have been the strongest among us but I was never the best … Lynn was because she was far more cunning than I ever were … and to I have to congratulate myself for staying alive long enough to drive you crazy. I've been waiting for you to step out of the shadows you used to hide in."

"Yes, you always managed to annoy me, little girl," he said strangely soft. "Frankly, I've prayed that I would be the first one to see you broken and I am really disappointed that I will miss your sister's face when she will see you. She used to see you as a fighter and not as a weakling. I am sure that you'd rather have died as a hero, huh?"

"I prefer living as a hero over dying as a hero," Nerissa replied.

"Well, you will have quite some years to think about these things since you will never get back up on your feet again, little hawk," the man smirked as he turned to leave. "I don't even see a reason to finish you off, Ardelia's heir. Maxime was the true leader and she stole it from him!"

Nerissa's face betrayed all the pain she felt now that the adrenaline of the fight was gone and she forced herself to connect her gloved hands once more before she slammed them onto the ground. "I don't care about the things you do to me for my body was damaged before and this new damage won't make a difference in the end," she said. "But for the honour of my family and for the pride I take in being a member of this family, I cannot let you go like this. You know that I was supposed to be named after my ancestor Ardelia and some said that I share quite a few of her traits … but you should have remembered that I am Nerissa and not Ardelia. And still, you will have to face my wrath … and a technique I created with the intention to keep it to myself by never using it in a fight."

"Your inability to go through with an attack was always your biggest weakness, little hawk."

"I would call it a virtue when I think about all the people I might have killed without the promise I made when I was even younger when I am now," she replied as her deep green light flooded into the earth. "You should have known that I am not as weak as you because I studied harder than you. Still, you were one of my mother's students and as such, I acknowledge you as the biggest threat to the family. That's why I fought you seriously. Still, time's up."

Nerissa's technique was based on alkahestry and upon mixing both systems of transmutation, she had found an attack of strength fitting for Hohenheim. This special blow consisted of a fist made of ice that punched the man away and injured him gravely while she sent a few knives after him before she sank back to the cold ground and closed her eyes. "I count on you, Ardelia's children," she muttered quietly while the pain ran through her body. "One day soon, we will fly again."

* * *

AN: Reviews are very much appreciated and we are close to the next arc


	25. 189: Ardelia's Children II

"…it's over for me, isn't it?" Nerissa asked tiredly as she stared at the ceiling above her hospital bed and scared the hell out of Serena who had been listening to the doctor for the past half hour.

"You are awake?" the other blonde asked as she slowly turned around. "But yes, it doesn't look well for you this time. What the hell were you thinking, anyway? You freaked Vicky out this morning…"

"I also freaked out quite a few workers who found me lying in my own blood," Nerissa remarked drily. "Damn, this was not part of my plan. I knew that I might get hurt this time but … fuck, I didn't want to end up permanently paralysed because of that bastard…"

"So the injury isn't worth it this time?" Serena inquired as she sat down on the bed. "That doesn't surprise me at all … because no matter how dangerous this guy is, he isn't worth that you can't walk."

"Victoria is going to murder him when she finds him," the older woman smirked. "He is going after Nick next … and from what I saw of Victoria in the last few years, she won't like that – at all."

"Victoria grew too fast into the leader she was meant to be," Serena muttered. "I pray that there won't be another repetition of what happened so many years ago, Nerissa, because that might be our end."

"You can never grow too fast into what you were meant to be from the first second of your life," her sister replied in disagreement. "Your worries won't become reality. I did not fight since I can remember against the ties of fate to let this lowly bastard come and mess everything up. You of all people should know what kind of woman I still am – legs or not."

"You won't be able to fight the way you used to with this injury," the younger sister said calmly as she walked over to the window. "You will probably find a way to compensate for this as well but you really should consider taking a role where the danger of another injury is not existent. We cannot afford to lose you, Nerissa, and you should try to think about that the next thing you get in trouble."

"I am just like you, Serena," the master alchemist replied smoothly. "We accept Victoria as our superior and at the same time, we are dedicated to her in same way we all were dedicated to Lynn."

"Devotion…" the Mermaid Alchemist chuckled. "I am really a fool for making the same mistake twice, Nerissa. Blind devotion nearly got me killed once and now I am just as loyal to Victoria as I used to be to Lynn. I will never learn that the devoted ones are usually the firsts to fall…"

"But the traitorous ones will fall even earlier that the loyal ones," Nerissa snapped. "I am sick of hearing all these excuses, Serena. I do not care about playing nice and fair any longer. He is going to mess with my nephew and my nieces next – and I will be damned if I allow this."

None of them heard the light footsteps on the floor as a red-haired teenager returned into the room where everyone else was waiting. Victoria's fists were shaking and her purple eyes held thunderstorms of wrath but since everyone was too worried about Nerissa, no one noticed the murderous aura that radiated from her. She had been trying to keep it in but after overhearing that Nick and Laila were in danger now, she knew that she couldn't take it any longer. She was going to strike before anything would happen to her beloved siblings.

"…Serena is coming back," Roy stated as his cousin-in-law entered the room and it was the expression on Serena's face that told them the truth. Victoria sat down while her fists tightened to uphold the mask. Nick punched the wall in a sudden and strangely silent outburst. Laila collapsed onto the next chair. Berthold shook his head in disbelief. Catherina cried openly. Peter looked like he would break down a few walls later on. Luis was downright confused.

"This … this cannot be the end," Riza whispered. "That person might think that we are finished now that Nessa is down … that we are done and that it is over because he won his battle but…"

"Oh well, he can think that we are finished but as long as we are strong, we aren't through with this yet," Roy grinned. "So, guys, let's stop this for a second and ask ourselves: what would Nessa do now?"

"She would beat up that lowly bastard," Elicia shrugged. "Nessa never gave up the fight."

"Yeah," Cai nodded. "She would always stand up for what is right."

"Exactly," Riza said. "And now it's our turn to give something back to her. Whoever caused Nessa to get injured like this – he is going down. Right now, the only thing that keeps me from taking out my old rifle is that I know that Nessa inflicted some damage as well. Right now, we have to unite to fight. Up to now, the battle was terribly one-sided but we are going to turn the tables."

"We have hardly any time left," Berthold stated calmly. "But one thing is sure: the guy is going down."

"Yeah," Nick said in agreement as he looked up from the ground. "I can already feel the flames. I think that it's time to man up and prove the world that we were made off stronger stuff than that."

"Oh, please be silent," Victoria moaned as she held her head. "This is my war … and Nessa wasn't the first victim. I am going to take care of this soon enough because I won't tolerate being pushed around a second longer. I will be a force no one can ignore, an army for justice – and Nerissa. Yeah, justice…"

"Victoria, you are going down an incredibly dangerous path there," Berthold warned.

"This was a declaration of war, well, they will get the war they asked for – but they will get it strongly Victoria-flavoured. I am taking the next train to wherever they are hiding. They will get what they deserve." She grabbed her coat and walked to the door. "Oh, whoever wants to join me is invited."

Without a word, Riza, Berthold, Nick and Laila got up and followed her out of the room.

"Aren't you going to join them as well, Roy?" Serena snapped at him.

"No," he replied calmly. "I think that I am needed here. Nerissa has a few extremely hard weeks ahead of her, you have a wedding to plan and everyone else needs me as well. And I trust them to do nothing extraordinarily foolish. They are old enough to decide what's good for them."

"They know nothing about the things ahead of them!" the blonde screeched. "They don't know these people the way Nerissa and I know them! They are blind to the cruelness these people posses!"

"But aren't you underestimating them a little bit?" Elicia asked as she crossed her arms just like Nerissa often did. "All of them proved before that they are reliable and strong persons. I don't think that they will mess it all up now. They came too far to ruin it now. I say that they will come home in one piece after putting those people back into their rightful places. I believe in them because honestly, there isn't anything else we can do now. And as long as we have faith, everything will be fine."

"Well said, Elicia Hughes," her father said upon entering the room. "Hope never dies."

"Thank you, dad," she grinned as she sat down again. "But hoping isn't enough for me right now."

"Oh well, before I forget about it … Nerissa wanted to see you as soon as possible," Serena said in her usual serious voice. "And I need to get back to work now. I can't be seen slacking off."

"Alright," Elicia said as she got up. "I will see what she wants now … she should worry about herself instead of me right now…"

"Nessa was never known as someone who worries about herself when she was injured," Roy shrugged as he leaned against a wall. "I guess that she wants to see this just like any other injury she suffered in the past and I think that we should accept this wish because she did quite a lot for us along the years."

* * *

"…finally," Nerissa said as Elicia entered the room. "Serena probably nearly forgot that I wanted to see you before these drugs knock me out. Little advice from an older woman: never fall onto your back in a way that leaves you permanently paralysed, Elicia. It isn't worth the flowers."

"Your humour is appreciated yet I wonder why you wanted to see me of all people," the girl replied.

"You and I share a goal and since I am incapacitated right now, I fear you have to take care of this for me," Nerissa said as she looked at her in a serious way. "Elicia, grab Min Li, Owen and Cai and go after the others. This will be madness if you do not help them. There will be people who die just because of my current situation and as long as I can do something, I will keep fighting for their lives."

"I cannot go after them, Nerissa!" the girl protested. "I am hardly fit for a battle of alchemists."

"Riza used to say the same thing eighteen years ago and in the end, she stayed out of the main battle. The result was that Serena nearly lost her life. The time of hesitation is over, Elicia. Your father and his cousin were no alchemists as well … and yet they fought alongside my sisters and got hurt along with them. And because all of them fought until they could barely stand, Serena is still alive today," Nerissa said seriously. "You can be more than you think right now, Elicia. You can be taller and better than anyone who claims that you have to be an alchemist to defeat one."

"Why do you trust me with such a task? Why not Serena or Uncle Roy?"

"Roy and Serena aren't ready for this yet. Roy still blames himself for missing out the first battle of this kind while Serena is still in therapy to get over being nearly killed," Nerissa said as she held out her knives. "I forged them myself," she explained the fact that they were a little bit too perfect. "Originally, I wanted to give them my daughter or my son … but I have no children and right now, you need them more than I do, Elicia. You can take them."

"I will borrow them," Elicia stated calmly. "You get them back once you can walk again."

* * *

Falkenburg. A castle threw looming shadows onto the city. For the five people who were heading towards this castle, the whole atmosphere was bone-chilling and they stopped for a moment to look at each other but their resolve was still firm.

"Intimidating, I know," Riza said as she forced herself to smile.

"No," Laila replied as she stubbornly stared at the castle. "My guess would be pathetic."

"To hide behind thick walls is no sign of strength," Nick agreed. "It's a sign of complete and utter weakness … so we don't have to be afraid of this."

"Yeah," Victoria said as she paled slightly. "Well, let's shake them up a little bit."

"That's a word," Berthold said patiently as he crossed his arms. "Let's go."

They made their way down the street and reached the castle with the sunset.

"So, there we are," Laila sighed. "Are you ready?"

Despite looking peaceful, all of them were armed. Berthold wore gloves just like his former apprentice and son-in-law while Riza had more guns and bullets hidden on her person than on the Promised Day. Nick's gloves had a different style for his flame alchemy had been translated by Victoria who had made slightly different arrays while Laila's golden gloves gleamed in the red sunlight. Victoria was on the warpath. Her wrath knew no limits and to calm her anger, someone had to bleed. From the outside, she was perfectly styled as usual with her tight black dress that showed off her curves and the purple coat while her hands were covered with silver gloves as her braid fell over her left shoulder.

Riza exhaled deeply before she opened the huge door with the key she still possessed.

"Are you ready?" Berthold asked carefully.

"We have to be," Laila replied as she stepped into the hall. "What kind of horror movie is this?"

"The entrance hall," her mother stated drily.

"I wouldn't have guessed," Nick said darkly as he looked around with a grim expression.

"So, where are the elders?" Victoria asked.

"Good question," Berthold said. "But I have no clue where they are hiding this time … still, we should find them quickly because I sure as hell don't trust this silence."

"So you noticed it as well," Laila muttered as a shiver ran down her spine.

"Of course I did," he said calmly. "This castle always had this atmosphere when I came to visit."

"Teams of two?" Riza suggested. "It's a building so no one should get lost…"

"Yes," her father nodded. "Laila and Victoria go together and you go with Nick, Riza. I go alone."

"Do you think that this would be a good idea?" Laila asked.

"Yes," he said. "I can take care of myself."

Victoria was tempted to say that this should be normal for a man of his age but stayed silent. "Alright," she said. "Laila, let's go."

"The most capable of this youngest generation…" Berthold smiled as he looked at his nieces' children. "That's great for me to see and I am happy that I returned to see this sight…"

"I am still not happy about this," his daughter replied. "No matter how talented they are, this is extremely dangerous as you know as well…"

"It isn't the first time this happens after all," he nodded.

Her shoulders tensed. "I don't want to be helpless again," she whispered. "I cannot take it all over again … I would rather die than watch again how everything goes down the drain."

"I know," he sighed as he patted her shoulder. "Now go and help Nick, will you? I am fine on my own."

She bit her lip. "Just … just don't die," she muttered.

"I wouldn't even dare to dream of it," he said seriously before he disappeared into the shadows.

She shook her head before she looked at her son. "Let's go," she said before they walked down another dark hallway. Not again, she vowed as memories flashed through her mind. Serena on the ground, beaten and bloodied with her limbs stretched into inhuman angles … Martin, a few metres further to the right with a broken legs and unconscious … Maes, desperate to do something but nothing was working … Charles, lying on the floor like so many others but he was on the stairs with blood all over him … Kay, unable to fight a second longer because her body was shattered … Lynn, crying. It had been one of the few occasions the silver-haired sister had shed tears. And as Riza walked down the hallway, Serena's face was replaced with Laila's as Nick took Martin's place.

"-om, MOM!" Nick hissed. "You don't look well…"

"Not again…" she whispered. "Never again…"

"You look pale, mom," he said. "And what do you mean? What happened before, in this castle?"

She inhaled deeply before she spoke. "I nearly lost all of them," she muttered. "Lynn and I … we couldn't do anything but scream … they got hurt and we couldn't help them at all. It was a disaster … Serena might have died … I don't want to think about what might have happened. It was hell to me."

"How could you survive?" he asked. "If it was so bad, how did you make it out alive?"

"When everything seemed utterly lost and Serena was closer to death than to life, Lynn kind of snapped and somehow, she managed to defeat all of her opponents … and my dad involved himself because after he had lost Nessa, he couldn't stand to lose another family member," she said as she shuddered as they passed the stairs Charles had tripped down back then. "This saved us in the end … that Lynn lost her cool and that my father was there when we needed him the most."

"You don't like being here, right?"

"To be honest, I hate being here more than anything else."

* * *

"…perhaps we should separate," Laila suggested with a smile. "We would cover more ground this way, wouldn't you agree, Victoria?"

"I am not sure if I would be fine on my own," Victoria muttered as embarrassment coloured her cheeks deep crimson and she looked down.

"Tori, you are strong and if you believe in yourself, you will be far stronger than anyone in your way someday. C'mon, Tori, live a little, will you?"

"Alright," the red-haired girl sighed. "I will take this way, Laila."

"See you later," her older sister said as she took the stairs that led upwards.

Laila did never worry about Victoria and Nick because she simply knew that they would always be alright and therefore, there was no real reason for to worry about them in her eyes. Well, she had thought the same thing about Nerissa who had fallen harder than anyone had ever imagined. The idea that Nerissa would get seriously hurt had been a bad joke to most people up to now. Still, Laila did never worry about her siblings because it just wasn't her style – and it wasn't like Victoria and Nick to get hurt. Usually, they avoided injuries far better than normal people and therefore her steps where light and bouncy as she hurried down the hallway. If she had known, she would have turned around but she hadn't known and so she hadn't even looked back at Victoria who was entering the cellar.

It had always been fine after all and why should their luck run out today? She had never heard something this ridiculous before.

* * *

"No matter what's going on, I am in," Min Li said once Elicia appeared in front of her door. "This is probably about Tori's crazy trip to her family's castle. Cai mentioned something like this."

"You … knew that I'd come for you to help me with this?" Elicia asked with a frown.

"Darling, I am the only one who can actually find them – well, my parents could do it as well but they are still needed in the hospital," the older girl said as she stepped back. "Come in, the others are already here. Oh, and ignore the guy who is stalking me right now. I don't get him to stop it."

"I am merely fulfilling my duty, Min," the smooth voice of the black-haired teenager behind her said as he ran a hand through his black hair. "And since we have already established that a little bit of stalking is what you deserve right now, you don't even have to glare on me."

She grabbed his shoulder and smashed him against a wall. "And you should know by now that you cannot order me around, Jing," she said with a wide smirk. "Anyway, if we want to be in Falkenburg in time, we should get Elric to drive us. He could make himself a little bit useful as well, huh?"

"Great idea," Cai smiled as he crossed his arms. "But do me a favour, Min Li, stop flirting with Jing, will you? This is starting to freak me out a tiny little bit."

"I am not flirting!" she hissed back at him as she opened a drawer and took out kunai. "Well, even if I am going to hurt myself, this mission requires full equipment."

* * *

"…chimeras?" Victoria asked. "Who the hell would keep chimeras in the cellar?"

"You have an eternity ahead of you to muse about this, little girl," the hollow voice replied, "because there is no way in hell that you could defeat all of them, is there?"

"Let me think about it…" she crossed her arms. "After you guys permanently disabled my aunt and dared to think about putting your filthy hands onto my siblings … do you really think that anything could stop me right now? I am going to defeat these chimeras and afterwards, it's your turn."

"You are alone, armed only with a pair of gloves and there are fifty chimeras. I believe that the outcome of this battle is already obvious: you will lose, little girl."

"But I never cared about my odds and frequently proved them wrong," she replied as she looked around for something she could use as a weapon. "Well, let the games begin, I'd say…"

"Any last words to your family who will be severely decimated once the week is over?"

"Nah, I'm going to tell them myself what they need to know," she said. "But I do have a message for your boss: _Leave my family alone, you fucking idiot, or there will be hell to pay._"

"Judging your language, I'd say that you spend a little bit too much time around Serena…"

"I believe that I have every right to curse like that when someone dares to mess with my family."

"If you say so, little girl…"

"It's still Master Victoria to you and those who are like you," she spat. "And now, leave me and the chimeras alone, you bastard. I am going to have a bloody little battle against them."

"Of course, your Highness," the man smirked. "Oh, and if I was you, I wouldn't even think about using those swords on the wall. They are pretty heavy and seeing that you made yourself a name with your swimming and athletic skills, you would probably hurt yourself worse than any of your opponents…"

"That's mine to judge," she replied as she moved smoothly into her fighting stance. "See you later."

* * *

_"Why don't you end your own suffering?"_ a voice in Nerissa's head whispered sweetly. _"You cannot even walk anymore – how are you going to fight for the ones you love? You became worthless…"_

"I am **not** worthless," she replied as she tried to fight the temptation.

_"Of course you are worthless," _the voice said. _"You tried to be the hero by attracting the attention and you succeeded, it was you who fell and not Victoria who was supposed to. I have to admit that you fulfilled your duty as a protector of the family. But now, you are a broken tool. No, you aren't even this. That Lan Fan-girl used to be a broken deal but she could be repaired. For you, there isn't such hope."_

"Victoria is going to make everything alright again. I just need to believe in her. This is everything I can do right now … and usually, it is a good idea to place your hope into her instead of other people."

_"And you really believe that she will turn around and carry you through this? Her shoulders are already burdened … and no responsible head of your family would abandon her duty just to carry someone like you through the long years ahead … no, if this girl is just half as smart as most people give her credit for, she will learn to forget about you. Soon enough, you will just a faint memory to her … and everyone else. Why do you want them to remember you? You became weak. You used to be on par with Jade Mustang. Now, she surpasses you by far. Do you want to live with this shame?"_

"Shut up!" the blonde ordered. "You know nothing about me or Victoria. She said that she would never leave anyone behind. She isn't like you. She is strong enough for me to be another burden to her."

_"She is going to have more than enough trouble with your little sister…"_ the voice taunted. _"You know that Serena is far more valuable right now because unlike you, she isn't paralysed. She is strong while you are weak. It would make more sense for Victoria to take care of Serena, wouldn't it?"_

"You cannot compare the worth of two lives with each other, you fool!"

_"You don't want to face the facts again, Nerissa,"_ the voice said with more anger than before as a face formed into Nerissa's mind. It was the face of her mother, just as always. _"You didn't want to accept that you are the only failure in your whole family. You didn't want to accept that your father never loved you the way he adored Kay and Lynn. You didn't want to see that everyone is more perfect than you."_

"I told you to shut up!" Nerissa hissed.

_"Oh dear, this is all happening in your head,"_ the voice taunted. _"Yes, my darling, you are just as crazy as you were before. It was too cute of you to try to be normal. You were always weird … and when you want me to shut up, well, you will have to kill yourself for I won't shut up a second earlier."_

The next thing Nerissa knew was that she was grabbing the only knife she still had.

* * *

Sometimes, the man known as Scar hated his life and everything else. Miles was his friend, had been his friend for a long time. But lately, Scar was mad at his friend all the time because after the fiasco with Olivier, the man with the spiky ponytail had gone and gotten himself a new woman. This new woman was technically his old one but who cared about details like this?

The new/old woman was beautiful but that didn't mean much to the former serial killer. He also didn't care about the fact that she was half-Amestrian and looked just like every other Amestrian woman: tall, blue eyes and blond hair. He didn't care because her other half was Cretan and along the years, Creta had suffered under Amestris' iron fist nearly as much as Ishbal. She was smart and witty – and one hell of a fighter.

Usually, Scar had never paid much attention to whatever Miles was doing because usually, Miles knew what he was doing and so it was rare for him to need help with anything. But one day, the blond woman had arrived and she had messed up his world. He hated the way she shamelessly kissed Miles whenever she saw him somewhere in Ishbal because he always wanted to have a little bit of her attention as well but since Nerissa was pretty much unique, it was pointless to search for a woman just like her.

But for there had never been a chance for him to steal her away, he had played along all the time and acted like he wasn't bothered by the way they sometimes talked cute (even though it was slightly ridiculous seeing that both of them were warriors). A part of him had urged him to confess but there was no point in confessing when the woman was this smitten with his best friend – and it wasn't right in Scar's eyes to confess to his best friend's girlfriend, no matter how beautiful she was and no matter how much better he would treat her.

But he was always painfully reminded of the time he wasted by loving a woman he could never have because in Miles' office were so many pictures of Nerissa, hugging Miles and messing up his hair – not that the lucky bastard would mind. Scar sometimes wondered if his friend knew about the feelings he had for Nerissa and if he just ignored it because this would be his way to handle things like this. Still, Scar couldn't imagine if Miles would ignore things like this. It was obvious how much he loved the woman and it hurt Scar to know that she loved Miles as well and that she would never see him, no matter how funny he was or how cool he looked.

But now, things were messed up because Nerissa was in hospital and Miles was positively panicking because he had heard from Serena that Nerissa would never be able to walk again according to the doctors. And so they sat in the waiting room with the Xingese woman who kept more weapons in her bag and her clothes than a normal Xingese warrior.

"You never met, right?" Miles said in a desperate attempt to start a conversation. "This is Jun Li Wei-Yao from Xing where she used to work for the emperor. This is my friend … Scar."

The woman raised her gaze and studied him for a moment. "Lady Chang knows him, I gather," she stated in a strangely emotionless voice. "Nice to meet you, Mr Scar."

"Max," the Nerissa-lookalike of a younger sister ordered as she looked at the young doctor. "Tell me the truth. There was no stab or something like that. She fell straight onto her back. The spinal cord cannot be damaged. What the hell is going on?"

"You waited for Victoria to leave the town before you asked this? Bad girl," the man smirked as he lowered his folder. "Yeah, you are right. The spinal cord wasn't cut through. It was pressed together – which had the same effect. I called my father and according to him, therapy might do the trick and give her back her legs. Still, we aren't sure yet and don't want her to have any hopes we would crush later on."

A nurse stormed into the room and froze as she saw the fragile blonde on the chair. "Miss Hawkeye, your sister tried to take her own life," she choked out as Serena got up smoothly.

"It was reckless of you to let her keep a knife," the head of secret said in a voice that was too sharp to be truly hers. "Miles, Jun Li, I need you both in this. Max, make sure that word doesn't get out yet. I deal with this my own way."

Scar followed them to the room where another nurse was currently bandaging the bleeding wrists while a knife was on the floor, bloodied and yet beautiful.

"Suicide was never a solution, Nerissa," Serena said gently as she cupped her sister's face with her hands. "You don't have to worry, I promise. Vicky will make it all alright."

* * *

Laila glared at the other lightening alchemist she was currently facing. It was a good match, maybe a little bit too good because none of them could land a single blow on the other one and so it became more and more likely that the fight would be decided by who had more stamina because every kind of energy alchemy had the disadvantage of taking more power from the user than other kinds – and just healing alchemy took a higher toll from the alchemists who had chosen this path. Still, there were lucky ones like Victoria who had been born under a good star and who had arrays that reduced the loss of energy which gave them a higher tolerance towards all the transmutations they did.

"Judging your exhaustion, it is obvious that I won," her opponent panted as he struggled to stand.

"I am not sure about that – you look pretty exhausted as well," she replied and was proud that she managed to keep her voice even. "And I told you before: I won't back down. We came here to avenge Nerissa because one of your comrades was the one who put her into the situation that led to her injury … and now, we won't allow you to hurt another person we care for. Nerissa wouldn't back down either, just by the way … and we are just like her … made of stronger steel than anything the world has seen before and willed to win no matter how much it hurts."

"I recognise your mother in you, Laila Hawkeye," the man replied. "Kay hated Nerissa, didn't you know? I wonder how your mother would feel if she knew that you are ruining yourself to help a woman she hated with every fibre of her being."

"Lies," the blonde hissed. "Don't act like you knew my mother because you sure as hell have no clue of her. My mother was a proud woman yet her heart was kind, kinder than yours or mine. She would have avenged her sister's injury – and since she can't do it for obvious reasons, it's my job."

"Such a proud little girl … it's truly an honour to fight you."

"It's one-sided, believe me," she spat as she returned into her fighting stance. "And just like any other person I know, I won't let you weirdoes put a single finger onto my siblings. Hurt Nick or Victoria – and you will die slowly and painfully. Harm Helena or Rachel – and I will be the last thing you will ever see … because to protect my family and my siblings … that's my pride as a Hawkeye."

"And to overcome yours is my pride," he replied. "This isn't a battle of wills any longer, little girl. This is a battle of pride and families now … and I won't allow yours to beat mine."

"Too bad that I cannot allow you to beat me for the same reasons," she shrugged. "You were the ones who declared the war and now, we are giving you the war you were asking for … only to our own conditions and therefore strongly Victoria-flavoured. Be prepared to lose this damned fight!"

The attack she used to prove her point was one of the most powerful techniques lightening alchemy had ever produced and the soldiers who had served in Ishbal along with Kay had called tenderly the Lightening Goddess' Fist … and just like once Kay, Laila had mastered it on the level of perfection.

"You should have known," she said as she stepped over the unconscious man. "Never mess with a Hawkeye-woman. Pain is the only result."

* * *

"…I hope that you had no special emotional ties to Helena's daughter, Berthold," the cold and cruel voice of Maxime Hawkeye VII. said as the man leaned against a wall and smirked as sadistically as usual. "We had a few chimeras take care of her … she should be nothing but a few bones by now."

"I will mourn her once it is time – not one day earlier," Berthold replied darkly as he tugged on the ropes around his wrists. "And what about this? is it really necessary to tie me up? I'm an old man…"

"An old man who was capable of defeating Nerissa before her tragic accident that left her paralysed," Maxime chuckled. "No, Berthold, we learned our lesson: Ardelia's children are always a threat and to tie you up is the only thing that guarantees us that you leave us alive."

"I highly doubt that you really learned your lesson, Maxime," the flame alchemist said with an annoyed frown on his forehead. "The whole chimeras-in-the-cellar-thing is something you tried before … and Lynn walked out half an hour later with her hair in a mess and her hands bloodied while all the chimeras were defeated. That was nothing a shower couldn't fix. How can you believe that Victoria will die?"

"We doubled the amount of chimeras," his opponent smirked. "Fifty chimeras instead of twenty-five, I told you that we learned from our earlier mistakes…"

Berthold fell silent for a moment. "What about the other children?" he asked.

"Laila is currently battling one of my supporters and is probably losing," the madman said. "And Nick, well, I don't know. He went another way than the one he should have taken and now I cannot tell you where he currently is. And for your daughter … we merely locked her up and hope that she would interfere with anything because I would hate to murder her as well … such a pretty woman…"

* * *

Riza glared at the door and hoped that the metal would give in. She had fired a few rounds at the frame in hope that whoever had prepared this room for her had forgotten to strengthen this as well but it had been pointless. Now she sat on the floor and thought about other ways to get out of this because she had better things to do than to wait that someone would let her out. She had children to find and to protect and she would sure as hell not fail them like she had failed Lynn and Kay along with their husbands. This time, she would be there to save the day – well, as soon as she was out of the room.

"Kay would laugh at me," she muttered as she wrapped her arms around her legs. "She always said that I would regret the day I gave up on alchemy – I just never thought that it would be this early!" She threw the door another glare. "Well, what would Charles do if he was in my place? He would probably kick it down but his physical strength always was superior to mine…"

Martin would somehow find a way to open the door without physical strength and use his mind but he had always been better in such things than she was and so there was no hope that she could pull a Martin and open the door only by manipulating the lock or something like that. Lynn would use alchemy to open the damned door and Kay would do the same – just like most other people she knew.

"Alright…" she muttered as she stared at the door. "There is no other way, I guess. I can't give up now. I have to break the promise I made … and hell, I won't even regret it this time." She took a sharp knife from her boots and cut herself into the thumb before she used the blood to draw an array onto the metal door. "Not bad," she sighed as she rested her fingertips onto the cold metal. "Time to strike back, guys," she smiled before the array glowed and a door inside the door opened to let her out.

And as she ran down the hallway, she swore that somewhere above her Kay and Lynn were laughing.

* * *

There were three sets of footsteps which obviously belonged to adults and at least four sets of footsteps which belonged to children on the hallway as Nerissa awoke from her short slumber. She sat up as far as she could and grabbed the last knife she still had before she waited.

"Keep the knife to yourself, Nessa," Jade said as she slipped into the room. "We have a plan and need you for this. We don't like the situation – at all. We are sending reinforcements now."

"I expected someone else to have this idea, Mustang," Nerissa replied as she raised her left eyebrow.

"He said that he would stay out of this for it doesn't concern him," Jane Stevens said as she stood next to the door like the guardian she happened to be. "Well, this is the official version of course."

"Unlike the others, I won't watch how history repeats itself," Jade said as her eyes burned with the flames many had only known as stifled after Lynn's death. Nerissa who had seen the woman she had defeated as an equal once wondered briefly if she would be able to beat this Jade again but since her body was destroyed, it was not more than a brief thought, an idea.

"We have a plan but we need you since you are the only one who could stop him," Serena said softly as the pain in her eyes reached the level it had only once before after her pointless attempt on Human Transmutation. "You were gifted, Nessa, and it's time that you show the world what you are made off."

"I can't even walk," the older woman said bitterly. "And Lawrence just ruined my attempt to take my own life. Even Max wouldn't allow me to leave this hospital now, Rena. I am nothing but a failure."

"We weren't going to ask anyone," her sister replied as she held out her wrists where the tattoo was missing. "I am taking your place. We were told hundred times or more that we look like one and the same. It's time that we benefit from this, huh? And I am not as valuable in this fight as you."

"You are breaking the law if you do this," Nerissa tried to protest but there was the wheelchair and Serena was taking off her coat to reveal a pyjama just like the one Nerissa was currently wearing.

"Nessa," Jade said as she helped the older woman into the wheelchair. "In case you forgot, we are the law and therefore we cannot break it."

"The chancellor said that we aren't supposed to interfere," Stevens said calmly. "But I won't watch how a few mad scientists ruin the only chance of peace inside the country. I have been forced to watch for too long. I cannot do this anymore. If I watch now, I can quit the secret service and live a happy and peaceful yet incredibly disappointing life on the countryside."

"Who is in this plan besides you?" Nerissa asked as Serena took her place by wrapping bandages around her wrists. "This isn't just you, is it? You usually don't operate with a few careful chosen helpers, Mustang. Steven's lover won't leave her alone in any case and Havoc is surely in as well."

"Timms was actually a pretty good sniper back in his army days," Stevens said without any remarks towards the lover-comment for she was used to them by now. "To leave him out of this would be pretty dumb and therefore nothing we would do. We come from the Western Area after all."

"Mommy?" Jade's daughter Mia asked shyly as she appeared in the doorway. "Laura says that the doctors are moving again and Lars gave the sign that you should disappear really, really fast now."

"Thanks, darling," Jade smiled before she kissed her daughter's forehead. "You stay here with the other children until Claudio comes to pick you up, alright? And don't get in trouble – that's my job."

"Be careful this time, Jade," Serena said and looked at the blanket above her legs. "This time, Lynn won't be there to patch you up again, remember? This time, it would mean your end."

"To be careful would mean to hold back, right?" Jade said as she turned around and wheeled Nerissa to the door. "I never hold back. Whenever I do something, I give two hundred percent."

"That's the way it is supposed to be, huh?" Stevens muttered as she turned around to look at Serena while giving her a thumbs-up. "I keep an eye on the boss," she promised because she knew of the promise between Lynn and Serena so many years ago. "You don't have to worry, Miss Hawkeye."

"Thank you for understanding the situation," the blond woman said softly as the children entered.

"Don't worry, Rena," Nerissa said as she looked over her shoulder. "I will be back before anyone will notice that you took my place. It's a promise and I always keep my promises, right?"

Laura Armstrong-Llewellyn watched the way the blond woman on the bed folded her hands over her stomach before she smiled up at the ceiling. "Soar and fly, Nessa," she said despite her sister's current inability to walk. "You were meant for bigger things than a wheelchair. Prove me right, I beg you."

Lars, Laura's older brother, smiled cheerfully at her with two missing front teeth. "Mom says that you are made of stronger stuff than most people," he said.


	26. 190: Ardelia's Children III

**Ardelia's children III**

* * *

Jun Li heard someone going through her old clothes on the attic and after sneaking up the ladder, she nearly got the first heart attack of her life. "What the hell are you doing here, Lan-Lan?" she hissed as she switched on the light. She had recognised her sister's chi signature and her unique way to move in complete darkness. Her own training had made her dodge the kunai her sister had thrown out of reflex and she hated to admit that her survival instinct was still on autopilot after so many years.

"I don't have the time to explain my actions right now," the younger sister replied as she grabbed an old bodyguard armour from the chair. "You have to trust me on this, Jun Li. I would hate to lie to you and if you don't ask me, I don't have to lie right now. You remember our old no-questions-no-lies-policy we used to have before everything got too complicated."

"You are currently stealing my old clothes and you expect me to watch you without asking a single question, Lan? Fat chance, honestly, because I cannot let you steal my identity … and you already took my mask. I noticed that it was missing from my bedroom."

"I only need the identity of an active Xingese bodyguard," the empress said softly as she held the stolen item close to her chest. "Believe me – I would tell you everything if I had the time … and I don't have it. I am undercover and have no warriors to send in my place right now … and first and foremost, it's a noble's duty to protect the people … and that's what I am going to do now."

"I don't wish to fight you," the older sister said tiredly as she leaned against the doorframe. "I wasted too much energy in the hospital today … and I can barely stand. If you were looking for a moment to surpass me, here it is. I am barely able to defend myself."

"This isn't about you and me, Jun Li. I got over your decisions because I realised that you did what you had to do to keep everyone else save. This is about me and the family, this is about me and my mistakes – about the times I failed to show the same kindness you possessed. The one that didn't disappear when times were rough and decisions had to be made," Lan Fan said as she pulled the tight black jacket over her pink shirt. "This is about me and the sins I have to atone for … this is about the times I failed as a member of the Wei-family. You left me in charge of the minor members of the clan. You gave me on last order before you disappeared: to protect those the council of elders was constantly picking on … and I couldn't even defend one single girl."

"Min Li, this is about my daughter," Jun Li said as the same agony she always felt when she was remembered of everything she had missed in her daughter's life ran through her veins.

"Of course it is," Lan Fan said as she tied the belt around her waist. "I was too busy mourning over you and our parents to see those who were suffering even more. I should have known that something was off after no one seemed to care when she was the best member of her class … and I should have known that she was my niece. I should have been able to look straight through all the lies."

"I don't blame you for the mistakes I made," Jun Li said as she opened a secret drawer and handed over a set of her sharpest kunai. "But I won't keep you from your duty either. This is the strange thing about us, huh? As long as there is a duty we can fulfil, we never think about giving up – at all."

"I am sorry for disappointing you – again," the younger sister muttered as she placed the mask over her face. "And should I offend any Dragon Warriors by taking your mask, I am sorry for this as well."

"As long as you respect our philosophy, it isn't much of a deal," Jun Li said as she untied her hair and allowed it to fall down to her waist. "_Duty should never be a burden but an honour, bigger than anything else._ You would have made a great Dragon Warrior, I guess. Too bad that you were born too late."

"Four members of one family as Dragon Warriors might have been a little bit too much," she replied as she tied the laces of her sister's boots. "I have just one question … did you ever regret?"

"I regret many things … but being a Dragon Warrior isn't among them," Jun Li said. "I hate myself for my cowardice and my disregard for those who had other dreams than I. But all in all, I would do most things all over again … with just a few minor changes … like to speak with grandfather properly."

* * *

"…that's bad," Nick muttered as he ran down another hallway and ran straight into another lion-tiger-chimera that charged at him before he managed to create another wall of fire that scared the animal into hiding from him instead of attacking. "Honestly, why can't mother be still alive? She defeated these things in mere seconds … damn, I miss her!"

"I agree," Laila said as she left another hallway and appeared next to him. Her clothes were tattered and her hair was in a mess while her eyes gleamed. "Hell, that guy was pretty good."

"But you're okay, right?" he asked as he wrapped one arm around her as she tripped and nearly fell.

"Sure," she said as she smiled. "I won the battle and right now, I want nothing more than a cold shower and something to eat. Energy Alchemy is far more exhausting than anything else in the world."

"Healing Alchemy is even worse," he remarked as he smiled. "Well, we really should hurry up a bit."

"I agree," his sister said as they hurried down the hallway. "Time is rare at times like these."

* * *

Min Li had been top of her year and even today, she was infamous for her style in her hometown. She had made herself a name for her slightly impulsive behaviour when her friends were in danger and right now, she looked like she was about to smash everything in her way. Her hair was out of her face and she had traded her yellow dress for a tight black shirt and wide black pants. If her great-grandfather would be there to see her, he would probably say that she was a splitting image of her mother – especially since she had chosen a set of knives which she carried on her belt and in her clothes, carefully hidden from any piercing eyes.

"We are running out of time," she said as she wrapped her arms around her legs and glared at Edward.

"I am already driving as fast as I can!" he snapped. "Why are we even in such a hurry? They just went home to confront a few people. That's no big deal."

"I have still a bad feeling about this," Elicia muttered as she stared at the passing landscape. "These are the things that would cause trouble in normal families. In this family, there might be a lot of blood."

"We are nearly there," Cai said to cheer her up. "And I am sure that everything will be alright again."

Min Li was strangely silent as her blue eyes narrowed. She had seen fights like these before and she knew that it wasn't unlikely that someone would get hurt and a part of her knew that Nerissa wouldn't be the last one to take a serious injury. The Xingese girl had watched the way other people suffered in silence for many years and often, she had tried to help yet somehow, it hadn't been possible.

* * *

"…you know, your sister was really something else," Maxime went on while he poured red wine into his glass. "Reine was an amazing woman … too bad that you managed to ruin her in the end, Bertie."

"I don't think that you knew her the way I knew her," the flame alchemist said calmly as he stared into the falling darkness. "Rain was power-hungry, self-obsessed and at least two-hundred more negative things. If I was you, I wouldn't even mention her again for you are free of the stain."

"You never saw the greatness in her plans with this family," the other man sighed deeply. "She had plans to make us bigger and stronger than anyone else … she had bring us back to the sun where we belong. She wasn't one to let us rot in the darkness, never appreciated and never respected…"

"And so we return to the same point we left off so many years ago," Berthold snapped. "I am tired, can't you understand that? I am tired of fighting inside the family all the time. I am tired of needing to protect my daughters and my other relatives from your madness. I am tired of having to fight my own flesh and blood just because some members of our own family feel the need to gain power by force."

"And so we get the answer we wanted all along," a disgusting high female voice said. "Why, Berthold, why? We wondered this all along … why did you take this, all this silent torture?"

"Dora," he sighed as he looked at her. "I didn't miss you – at all."

"Keep your empty hatred to yourself, Bert," the woman ordered. "You really should tell Maxime why you keep all of this in for so long because if you don't, I am going to tell him."

"I don't care which lie you are going to tell next, Dora," Berthold said darkly. "I really don't need to fear you and your words, Dora. I have seen and heard worse, believe me."

"Really?" she taunted. "From a little boy who ran after this older and stronger sister to a full-grown man who was enough of a coward to let his nieces and daughter fight his battles, you always hated the idea that someone might come and take your beloved ones from you a little bit too much – and this is why we had to hurt Nerissa. That's why we had to sell out Serena and Helena. They were never a risk, foolish little girls they were. You were the risk, Berthold, and yet … it was easier to kill them."

"…because with every time someone close to you died, a little bit of you died as well," Maxime added.

"And we decided for this way to ruin you because we knew just too well that one day, you would break … and from the looks of it, this day is today. Helena's daughter should be nothing but shreds of clothes and a few bones by now," Dora smiled. "Isn't it amazing how easy we defeated you once you showed your ugly face again, Berthold? You always claimed to be the wisest among us … so shouldn't you have seen this coming? Victoria was of no importance to us. We knew that she would be sacrificed for one scheme in this family or another. She was out of the game the second she was born."

"And this is exactly why you will never win this battle or anything else," Berthold replied calmly as he closed his eyes for a moment. "You never managed to think of everything that might happen. I am sure that you managed to get Albus, Minerva and Helen out of the way and I congratulate you for this success. Still, just because you tied me up and just because you claim that you defeated Victoria, I am not beaten. No matter how tired I am, I have still enough power to force you to return to your place."

"You are too sure of your position … in spite of the fact that Laila and Nick were defeated and that Riza is locked up into a room where she cannot escape from," Dora smirked.

A second later, two shots rang out, destroying the ties on Berthold's wrist before the whole electricity of the castle broke down and the fireplaces in various rooms glowed golden from the flames that suddenly appeared in them. Berthold dodged the attacks from his mad relatives and glared at them from his position next to the door. "You haven't won yet," he stated calmly. "This was merely the start."

"Without your heir, the decision is already made," Dora replied as she held her sore cheek where his fist had met her face. "We won because your heir is dead."

* * *

Seeing that Min Li had grown up without a mother and that she had dedicated her whole life into becoming a warrior of Jun Li's level, she had never wasted thoughts into what other people thought of her. She had been part of a team with three boys; she had been quite the tomboy when she had been younger. She had been racing the three guys, sleeping on tree branches and especially, diving into lakes whenever she felt dirty without caring about what would be proper. Her uncle who had raised her had been desperate to straighten out those little habits but it had been a lost battle. Min Li Wei was one of the guys and she was happy this things being like this.

She thought about these things as she stripped down to her underwear and handed her clothes to Cai. "Make sure that I can find them on the other side," she said as she faced the water ahead of her. "We won't have much time and so we should be careful not to waste a single second."

"Min, why do you have to do this?" Elicia asked as she looked at the older girl. "The water is freezing cold … why can't you come with us?"

"If we separate and attack from multiple angles, the enemy will have trouble to predict us," Jing stated darkly as he looked everywhere but in his old friend's direction. "It's the first thing we learned when we entered the bodyguard academy … and the thing we were forced to remember many times."

"I see you on the other side," Min Li smiled before she waved and dived into the cold water. Instantly, her whole body tensed up and for the fraction of a second, she feared that she might never return to the surface because the water was so cold and so dark. But then she remembered the gold medals on her wall and she forced herself to stop panicking and a few strong kicks later, she reached the surface and inhaled deeply before she dived into the water again. She was Min Li Wei. She had won multiple medals in the swimming competitions. She had never backed down from a challenge. She would never drown as long as she was still conscious and she had every intention to save her best friend.

* * *

Riza was still smirking as she graceful jumped from the roof she had been lying on as she had freed her father down to another one, still looking out for another attack. "Kay was right about the main room being easy prey for any good sniper," she muttered under her breath as she opened another window to sneak back into the building, "too bad for these guys that we prepared situations like these long ago."

To her, it was a matter of pride and honour to get the children and her father out of this mess before anything bad could happen to them. The dancing flames in the fireplaces told her that Nick was well while the blackout was Laila's doing so she could be sure that two of her children were fine while it was uncertain if Victoria was fine as well. She doubted that a few chimeras could kill a girl who had fearlessly faced a former student of her crazy aunt before yet she had a bad feeling about this.

She hurried up as she heard two familiar patterns of steps and smiled as she saw her oldest daughter and her only son before she froze. "Where is Vicky?" she asked.

"Somewhere in the cellar in the chimeras' den if we can believe that creepy guy grandfather just beat up," Nick muttered darkly as he held Laila's hand. "We are trying to tell ourselves not to worry … but hell, that's a tough thing to do … seeing that she never took this long before, did she?"

"Victoria is a good fighter," Laila said sharply as she leaned against his shoulder. "She will manage."

Riza was no fool and she had studied her children's behaviour for many years. She noticed that Laila and Nick were extremely worried because both of them tended to require human warmth and some affection when they were unsure what to do while Victoria was the kind of person who never wanted help from someone else and quickly got annoyed when Laila and Nick became overbearing with their attempts to show her how much they cared.

"I see," Riza said as she stared at the floor, wishing for X-ray vision. "So it happens again…"

And just like all these years ago, there was nothing she could do but wait.

* * *

"I really love your plan," Edward grinned as he climbed up the ladder that would bring him to the place where he would start his part of the operation. "Honestly, Elicia, I never knew that you can be like this … this is better than anything our dear chancellor could ever make up…"

"Less talking and more climbing," the girl hissed as she swung herself onto the windowsill before she used one of Nerissa's knives to open the window. "Honestly, Elric, there are other things you should worry about … like the question what is going on between Min Li and her friend."

"She didn't want him to join us, you said earlier, right?" the blond man shrugged. "Maybe she doesn't want him to get hurt … honestly, there could be many reasons and Min Li really doesn't have to tell you why she acts like this. She proved to be trustworthy before, didn't she?"

"Either you are really this dense or you are ignoring the facts," Elicia snapped. "First of all: she never mentioned him before, not even to Victoria who is supposed to be her best friend. Secondly: this guy is an imperial bodyguard who served Lan Fan for two years so he should have some battle experience. I don't get why she doesn't want him to join when he would be so valuable. She always says that she would kill for the welfare of her friends and yet she wanted to leave him at home, completely ignoring that he might be helpful to save Nick – and Laila and Victoria as well, of course."

"She mentioned that she knew him since they were little children," Edward shrugged. "One thing, Elicia: Min Li is three years older than you and when she had your age, she was probably training harder than you ever trained before. She has a different philosophy and knowing her aunt and her great-grandfather, I would say that she was taught to keep her emotions to herself instead of announcing them to the whole wide world. She will tell you soon enough. For now, trust her."

* * *

"…you love Min," Cai stated darkly as he glared at Jing. "You have loved her all along, didn't you?"

"I don't think that we should discuss this now," the older boy replied as he blended in with the shadows. "What are those people thinking, anyway? To attack the rightful heir like this…"

"You are avoiding the topic, Jing," the prince said sharply. ""The reason why I am saying this is easy: Min is family … and she doesn't deserve to be heartbroken because of some fool who thinks that it would be funny to mess around with a princess. Min is like the annoying older sister I never had. Well, I have annoying older sisters but you get my point, don't you?"

"Min Li isn't a woman who is easy to love – this is everything I am going to say about this right now," the bodyguard sighed as he grabbed a kunai to force a lock open. "I feel a lot of disturbances beneath us. We should check this out first before we head out to meet the others."

"This isn't part of the plan!" Cai protested. "Elicia is going to rip off my head if we do this!"

"Min and I lost two comrades because we stuck to the plan instead of listening to our feeling. I sure as hell won't risk another life after this experience, Cai."

"I have just one question," Cai suddenly said as he stopped. "Why did Jun Li tell Min that she was 'prettier than rose' before we left? You froze when you heard it while Min ignored it … and since when doesn't Jun Li speak properly?"

For a moment, the older boy froze before he sighed. "It would come out one day anyway," he muttered as he stared into the darkness of the tunnel in front of them. "Qiang Fei, I guess that you know this name just as everyone else does," he said. "The red rose of the Fei-clan … a princess only in name but never in her behaviour. It won't be surprising for you to hear that Jun Li downright hates her. Well, a long time ago, Qiang was madly in love with Lei of the Yao-clan … and seeing that he was Jun Li's, she is still extremely mad at the woman who dared to long after him."

"And why did Jun Li say that Min Li is prettier than Qiang who is in prison right now anyway?"

"Aside from it being the truth? Well, I don't know," Jing said and Cai knew that he was lying.

* * *

The old woman in her room closed her eyes. She had never wanted to see this and desperately, she wished that her husband was still alive to share the burden with her but no one had been able to predict that it would get this much out of control. Just like no one knew where the road of life led a human or where the days went once they were over, no one could have told her that this would happen. She tried to ignore the shooting and the screaming inside her castle, her sanctuary. Power or rather the hunger after power had been their downfall – along with some unhappy marriages but no one could say that love grew as their hearts chose. Love was unpredictable, she had decided long ago, and this was the only reason while she still cared about the family who was currently busy destroying itself.

Her heart had stopped crying a terrible long time ago when the grandmother of the current target had reached this room like everyone before her who had been chosen to lead. And back then, the old lady had known that fate had made a mistake because Rain had never been meant to lead anything or anyone. When Helena, the current head's late mother, had reached the room, the silent heart had let out a last sigh because it had been obvious that Helena had been fated to fly and to fall hard one day.

Still, she had been a far better leader than her moronic mother, the old woman decided. Now she was waiting for the girl. She had seen many pictures of the beautiful girl with the deep red hair and the purple eyes which seemed to hold happy and sad secrets at the same time.

She wondered what she would have to tell this girl because she was different from her mother and her grandmother (and no word could cover how happy everyone should be that there was no similarity between Victoria and Rain). There was only time who could answer what Victoria needed to know.

But since their life roads were fated to meet soon, it was probably a good idea to let the fire inside her heart burn brighter than ever before, the old lady mused.

* * *

The castle had never seen or heard something like Jadelina Mustang on the warpath. Her anger radiated from her and Nerissa swore that she could feel how it hit the walls and let the whole castle tremble. It was unknown why Jade was this angry but Stevens had offered to stay behind because she feared this anger because it was terribly unpredictable. Jade was a woman of arrays and intelligence, easily distracted by knowledge but she was also a woman of fierce loyalty towards her friends.

"Jade, you might want to calm down a little bit," Nerissa said softly as her fingertips were connected. She seemed too calm to be truly relaxed and the slight twitching of her eyebrow betrayed her inner wrath. She was better at concealing her emotions than Jade this time which had never happened before because the so-called Emerald Princess had always been extremely skilled at hiding herself.

"You ask me to calm down?" Jade hissed. "You have to be kidding me, Nessa. I never calmed down when I got the chance to avenge my fallen friends – and right now, it's handed to me on a silver plate. I don't think that you understand the way my family operates: we avenge our fallen."

Nerissa understood better than Jade might have predicted because Nerissa knew when the Mustang-family had been founded so many years ago that hardly an Amestrian still knew that there had been a time without them. They had been a family made for war and therefore they were bound by their honour and their honour requested to avenge any fallen friends as soon as there was the chance to do so. And Jade was not different from her relatives who had lived many years ago and so it was part of her to seek revenge for her friends who had died because of the scheming of the very people they were currently searching. Jade was like her aunts and her mother – she didn't know the meaning of 'treason' because even though she had once betrayed her superiors, she had never truly betrayed anyone.

Deep down, Nerissa knew that the Hawkeyes and the Mustangs were far more alike than any family would ever care to admit. They shared the loyalty and the determination to overcome limits because they needed to grow and to become stronger than they were.

* * *

When Ardelia Hawkeye had been a young girl of eight summers, her father had taken her to the city where they had attended the funeral of a fallen member of their family. Maxime had been somewhere with their mother, probably some charity lunch, and so the girl had been stuck with her dad whom she had adored for the longest time of her life. And as they had watched how the coffin had been lowered into the cold and dark earth, the old Sir Hawkeye had looked at his only daughter who embodied the brilliancy her family was famous for and he had ruffled her hair before he had looked seriously into her purple eyes. _"Daughter,"_ he had said so many years ago. _"When you are a grownup, don't allow anyone to marry you off to some fool. There is more in you and you are meant to be more than just someone's little wife. So, would you please be the saviour for our family? And for all the others, the beaten and the defeated who need one? It will be hard for you but … one day, you will have to stand up against everyone, the elders and maybe even your brother. And I won't be there to help you."_

She had smiled and held his hand tightly. _"I promise,"_ she had replied. _"I am going to be as strong as you want me to be … and I will ruin the elders' plans."_

Sometimes she still had the feeling that her father was watching over her and then she wondered if he was proud of what she had become. She had gotten old, older than any other member of her family, outliving her moron of her brother just as much as her husband and her own children. Sometimes, she felt like it was time for her to leave and die from old age but how could she when she had still something left to do? Her cold fingers grabbed the rings and pressed it against her heart. She had seen war in her life as an alchemist and as leader of an important family and sometimes, she still remembered the corpses on the streets. She had hated war and she had hated the very idea of the state alchemist program once she had caught word of it. Her information network had slowly collapsed as her old informants had died from old age while she had kept on living because she couldn't go yet. She had to make sure that her family was in good hands. Her son, August, had died young and her grandson Felix hadn't been cut out to be a good leader. Rain had been a failure in any aspect and Helena hadn't been alive for enough years to judge her by. Should Victoria prove to be as weak as her grandmother, Ardelia wasn't sure what she would do.

In a world that sent her stumbling down the road of destroyed dreams, she knew that her brother's misery and hate would kill them all – especially since he had passed on this legacy to all his heirs. But there was no way that she would scratch out her own line and give back what she had taken when she had been fifteen. And this was common knowledge among Maxime's children who held some twisted kind of respect for her seeing that she was old and furthermore, their founder's little sister. It wasn't like she had shouted it from the roofs of the town but it had been obvious to everyone that she would be defiant and proud to the end.

And even though it sounded arrogant, it was known among her relatives that she had always carried on with her life when she had lost someone because in her eyes even though someone was dead and gone, his memory would always be remembered. And though her kinsmen might be broken and defeated, she would always keep marching on. She hadn't cared about her fears or about the way her own kinsmen had been disappointed with her because do it or die had often been the choices she had had and she had always chosen to act instead of being pushed around because no one would ever be able to order her around. It was impossible because she had guarded her heart for a long time and so no one had any hold on her. The others had gone and tried to break her down but she had never given in. She had wanted it all and so she had played the cards she had been dealt without looking back. She would never explain herself to her heirs who were suffering in her place or say that she was sorry for overthrowing her brother because she wasn't.

She was more than hundred years old and after all this time, she still felt no shame for what she had done and she was proud to show the scars she had gotten on her way. She had walked this way on her own and now, she wouldn't surrender everything as she prayed for all the broken who would never be who they were meant to be because death had caught them too early.

After all, she was just a woman who had wanted to protect her family and no heroine but frankly, she didn't care anymore.

* * *

Victoria had lost count of the chimeras she had killed long ago as her motions had gotten more and more complicated because she had to manoeuvre between attacking beasts and the corpses of those she had already managed to kill. She didn't view this act as a sin on her behalf because she had to fight them in order to stay alive and she knew that there was no other chance for her to get out alive and no matter how much she wished that she could be Laila who harmed but never left traces or blood, she knew that she had to be prepared for bloodshed and agony when she truly wanted to rise to the top.

The sword she had taken from the wall to defend herself was a lighter weapon than the one she had been training with under Olivier's often harsh tutorage and as she twirled around to kill off another chimera. Fifty of them were here to kill her and she was lucky that she was still alive so far. She had taken care of the first ones with her gloves because Healing Alchemy made a pretty good and reliable weapon but when she had avoided a counterattack, she had ruined her destruction gloves and this had forced her to change her weapons. She hated when these things happened because she hated to be weak and seeing that she had forced herself to grow, that she had became more than just a little girl who healed the people who defended her, it was truly embarrassing for her that she was still unable to defend herself properly. She scoffed at her own weakness once more before she backflipped to avoid another injury and as soon as she stood again, she wiped away the blood from her forehead.

It was too much for her to stand a second longer but honestly, she had no choice but to keep fighting. She was no one who could be bent into a shape and she knew that the others were serious about killing her and she couldn't do this to her family. And so she stayed on her feet and kept fighting even though she felt like she needed a break.

* * *

"…it's obvious, now," a black-haired teenager of Min Li's age muttered as he landed on the branch of a tree and stared into the distance. "She has still the same chi signature she had all those years ago."

"The chi signature hardly changes," the woman with the mask replied as she sighed deeply. "We are close to our goal, I believe. Still, we really should hurry up. This is far too dangerous without us taking care of the minor family members. … and I really want to have everyone getting out alive."

"This is dangerous," the young man replied as he crossed his arms and stared at the looming castle above them. "I feel the bad chi signatures radiating from this building. I don't like this."

"So I am not the only one who feels this," the boy muttered as he frowned deeply while his fingertips traced the scar on his jaw. "This feels worse than the Fei-dungeon."

"And you would know," his partner added darkly. "We really should get going. We didn't come this far to lose her now. This would be against our oath."

"And seeing that he stood true to our words for the past eleven years, we won't fail her now."

* * *

Most people knew Victoria as the well-dressed and polite daughter of the chancellor. Others had seen her dishevelled and tired after a competition. But no one had seen her like this: blood had died her hair a few shades darker, her formerly neat clothes were ruined and partially ripped apart and her skin showed injuries from where claws had cut through her smooth skin. Her purple eyes had a wild expression, an utterly devastated yet untamed one.

She limped slightly as she hurried up the stairs, away from the blood and the madness related to it. As she saw her reflection in a mirror, she stopped for a second because she looked even older than before. She had always looked older than she actually was but never this much and it hurt, hurt, _hurt_ her to know that she who had grown faster than her siblings would grow old before her time as well and when Nick and Laila would be in full-bloom, she would already start to wither.

"Damn," she cursed as she opened a door and slipped into a room, searching for water to clean her face with. But inside the room was a bed and on the bed was an extremely old woman who looked up from the book she had been reading as the girl entered. Two pairs of purple eyes widened and for a second, Victoria marvelled at the wisdom and the brilliancy in the other set of amethyst orbs.

"Funny, really funny," the old woman stated. "It seems like it was just yesterday that your mother took exactly the same way and chose the same door after her fight … yet, you look … wilder…"

"Y-you knew my mother?" Victoria stuttered while she straightened up a little bit.

"Oh yes, my darling, I knew her better than she might have known," the old lady replied. "As you might have guessed, my name is Ardelia Hawkeye and I am truly ridiculously old."

"I wouldn't have guessed," Victoria said drily as her brain caught up with her. "Anyway, can you tell me where I can get some water to clean myself and some new clothes before I ruin my image completely?"

"Impatient like your mother," Ardelia grinned as she crossed her arms. "You really should spend some time meditating and relaxing. It helped Nerissa quite a bit when she was younger."

"I probably shouldn't be surprised," Victoria said softly as she wrapped the remains of her coat closer around her shoulders. "I really need those things, you see? I can't let them wait on me."

"Of course," the old woman smiled. "First door to the right, Victoria, I even prepared some clothes."

"Thank you," the girl said and walked without looking back out of the room.

"Looks like Helena managed to raise her from her own grave into the kind of leader we need," Ardelia said as she smiled at her empty palm where the ring had left traces. "So … maybe we will finally walk into the future we deserve? Maybe we will finally have a leader who thinks about the future instead of the past? One that isn't trapped in old nightmares and haunting memories?"

* * *

She jerked one last time on the chain that had confined her to the wall and finally, it gave in and she could step away from the wall that had been part of her prison. White hair was curled in a refined way but deep brown eyes blazed with the unleashed wrath of many years as she walked to the door before she looked back at her fellow elders who were still tied up. "I come back for you later," she said as she waved at her husband. "There is a duty I have to fulfil and I debt I have to pay back."

"Be careful," he said as he tried to free himself.

She looked down. "I cannot promise this," she said as she closed the door behind her as she dragged her chains behind her. "I know that this will take my life," she whispered. "And I am not scared."

* * *

Preview for the story I will upload tomorrow:

_"So, let's make our vows," Ping stated as he walked closer to them. "I vow that I am obeying my team leader and that I will never betray any secrets of the team to an enemy. I promise furthermore that I am going to die for my teammates and my village if necessary. My highest priority will be the team and no duty towards my clan will change this. And I will grow and blossom."_

_"I vow," Lee said after kneeling down onto one knee, "that I will grow so that I can be strong enough to protect my team and my village. I will never betray any secrets of the team or a single teammate to a stranger. My loyalty is in my leader's hands and I will obey. Furthermore, I won't rest until everyone I know will be happy and able to enjoy his or her life."_

_"I vow," Jing said after following Lee's example, "that my loyalty will always be with my team and that I will never betray the team's case for a selfish reason such as revenge or another low intention. I furthermore swear that I will listen to my leader, no matter what the situation might be. I will guard the secrets of my team with my life and I am going to die for my team if necessary."_

_Min Li sunk down onto both knees unlike her male teammates and folded her hand sin front of her chest. "I vow hereby that I will grow so that I can protect you, my family and every other person I deem as worthy of my protection. I promise that I will never abuse the faith you set into me and that I will guard the secrets of the team, the family and the village likewise. I swear on my life that I will never abandon a comrade and that I will always think about the others before I think of my own advantage," she said. "And like Ping, I will grow and blossom one day."_

_It was fate that made a thunder resound above them just when the last of them had finished her vow yet as they ran back to the village to avoid the thunderstorm, Ping realised that they had stopped being children the moment they had promised. And even though Min Li had been the only one who had made it explicit that she had sworn on her life, everyone had did this._

__It is obviously a Xing-centred fanfiction with quite a few OCs because we only have 4 Xingese characters.


	27. 191: Ardelia's Children VI

**Ardelia's children IV**

* * *

Before there was Jing, there had been no one else in Min Li's life and so it wasn't surprising that she knew him good enough to realise when he was acting strange. Before him, she had only known the life in her family where a simple failure ruined the standing inside the family completely and so Min Li had never really understood love before she had been placed on a team with Lee Cho, Ping Fan and Jing Bo and so they had been the blade specialist, the tracker, the poison expert and the Chi blocker.

Min Li hadn't known what love was, what it really meant, before she had met Jing and the rest of her team. Besides Jing, she hadn't known any of them properly before they had been thrown together, forced to team up.

She had been the best junior warrior of her year, Ping had been average, Lee had been a disaster and Jing had been only second place after her. She doesn't think much of them, not even during training, until their first mission. She had been fighting with all she had, hurling her kunai and tossing her shuriken. She had known that no one in their year had her determination and that it didn't matter how badly she fought with these weapons because she had a goal and she would always fight to reach it.

In her concentration not to hurt herself, she missed the flicker of chi behind her but she saw Jing how he fisted a kunai that had been meant for her neck out of the way. Her life had flashed in front of her eyes and she had numbly decided that dying out there would be such a waste because she had still so much to do, and then black had invaded her vision and she had been tossed to the side.

Lee had been next to her, his bicep bleeding, and Jing had stabbed another kunai into the man's torso with frightening force.

When Min Li had finally worked up the courage to ask Lee why he would do anything so foolish, he had merely smiled at her, and told her that she was his teammate, and he wasn't willing to lose her so easily.

Min Li, who knew nothing but blade and blood and strength, had found this hard to understand, but when it had finally struck home that her life actually _meant _something to them, the world had tilted on its axis, and she had re-sharpened all her weapons for the next mission.

The next mission came and she had killed the man right before he could have murdered Lee. And as she had walked up and had pulled her kunai out of his neck, the numbness in her body had shattered by Jing's hand on her shoulder and Lee's serious eyes.

_"I won't let them hurt you."_

The Wei-clan's idea of love was deformed and dark and twisted to the point of being unrecognizable by a person outside of the clan. It was all about honour and power and strength and blood ties and there was simply no room in the Wei-clan for softness and tenderness and the love that everyone else knew because the Wei-clan had no patience for failure, no time for weakness, and no understanding of accepting someone for what they are. They were too busy with protecting the village and the princes and princesses of the Yao-clan to look after themselves. Geniuses such as Jun Li and Chao were honoured and respected while less capable members such as Min Li were mostly ignored and her achievements such as graduating the academy as top of her class and being the first of her age group to be allowed to be a true bodyguard were mainly ignored.

As a child, Min Li hated her family.

But despite everything, Min Li had loved Jing her entire life.

They had been friends since before they could remember, since before kunai and shuriken, since before memory and time itself. As far back as she could remember, he had always been there, quiet, gentle, and prodding her, pushing her, challenging her, making her, changing her.

Jing had always looked at the clouds because above them was so much space to grow into and she had called him lazy while she had worked harder than most children of their age because she had wanted to be more than her family saw in her.

Later on, Ping and Lee had been there as well and Min Li had loved their banter, loved their never-ending circles of chatting, where no one gets ahead of anyone else, and they are caught in an endless loop on insults that don't mean anything and words of love that are hidden under barbs.

But most of all, she loved how they all fit together, when they needed it more than anything, when everything was seamless and perfect as if they had been made exactly for each other.

Some days, Min Li liked to believe they were.

The first time Lee had invited his teammates to his house for dinner, Min Li had been shocked by the openness of the table and the warmth that radiates from the house. Lee's sister had teased her brother and had made loud jokes and the whole company had laughed and _laughed_ as Lee's mother had offered more of the hot, spicy stew that Min Li found she loved. There were dogs scattered all about instead of weapons, from tiny pups to the great, hulking beast Lee called Hime, all bounding around the table, begging for snacks, or curled up nearby, watching the goings-on with steady, sharp eyes.

Ping's home was quieter, with a touch of buzzing in the background. But there was always some kind of music playing whenever Ping brought his team over, and he taught Lee, Jing and Min Li old dances. They waltzed around the living room, with the furniture pushed back and the faded, oriental carpet soft on their bare feet. Ping's mother made little quiches and fruit tarts, and Min Li stole once a recipe off of her because she loved her pies.

With her teammates, Min Li suddenly didn't feel so lonely, or lost, or pathetic, because Lee's laugh was loud and brash and **good**, and Ping and Jing never said anything cruel, and she felts warm with them, safe and soft and perfectly herself.

Min Li had learned from Lee that dinner could be loud and rambunctious and funny, a time for family to bond and talk and smile, and eat thick, warm food that tingles all the way down her throat. She had learned from Jing that being alone didn't mean to be lonely. She had learned from Ping that free time could be spent laughing, twirling in odd motions and gripping someone's hand as the tempo of the music speeds up and falling didn't mean failing.

After one failure on a mission, Min Li had spent the night at Lee's household, because they had never been the people who would ask and she hadn't been ready to talk just yet. Her hands had been raw and pink from the powerful strike she landed not five hours before, on the woman who was about to stab Lee. She had let the target she had been chasing get away, but what does that mean when if she hadn't moved, Lee would be dead?

She had curled on the bed in the spare room and looked at her hand, the council's hard words and her uncle's disappointed glare echoing through her mind. But Lee was alive, and would invite her over for dinner again, and the word 'failure' hadn't seemed so condemning anymore.

And when Jing had stood there but she saw that it was not the Jing she knew, the Jing she had seen weak and thin after a failed mission but _victorious_, Min Li's grip on her kunai nearly had snapped it in half. It hurt to see how much he had changed along the years, how cold he had become.

Min Li stopped for a second before she looked back at Owen. "My whole life, I have never loved anything as deeply as I love my teammates," she said quietly. "I am weak and I am fragile and I am nothing like the other women I saw in the village, darting around in black vests and long boots and tight shirts stretched over perfect forms."

Yes, the only thing she had ever been truly good at was putting up a face of courage and bravery but everyone in her family wore some kind of mask and so no one had cared about it.

* * *

Riza opened her eyes again and stared in shock at her grandaunt Helen who was on the ground, bloodied and beaten, after intercepting the attack by using her own body as a shield. The blond woman saw from a corner of her eye how Laila went after the attacker before she caught herself and made her way over to the fallen woman.

"Au-aunt Helen?" she asked nervously.

"Riza," the woman smiled as she looked up at her. "You are alright."

"And you will be fine as well. Victoria – she can heal you."

"Don't, Riza, just … don't. Don't make my departure more dramatic than it has to be. I am an old woman and I knew what I was doing when I took the blow in your place." The old woman smiled as she took Riza's hand into her bloodied one. "You are still needed in this world … especially in this family. Once this is over, you will have to take my place … the elders will need you."

"But I am too young!"

"You survived more dangerous situations than the rest of the elders combined … you are ready for this, Riza," Helen smiled. "I see no problems for you in the future to be honest. This battle will be won soon enough and the wounds this family suffered will finally be allowed to heal. My death won't be in vain, I am sure of this." she dropped the hand that had covered her wound. "I look forward into a better future for the children of this family, Riza, and I see nothing but happiness there."

"I will do my best to make this vision come true," the blonde promised.

"This is kind of you, Riza. You will make a great elder, I am sure of this. You are stronger than I was when I was called into the council … and so, you can help Victoria to heal the wounds…"

* * *

"I am easily scared and I am insecure and … nothing like the other girls I know, nothing like the brave, sturdy Meimei, with a hundred daggers hidden under a pink dress and a welcoming smile; nothing like striving, strong Victoria, who twists and turns in cages of gold and duty, forcing herself to _grow_," she said as she kicked down another opponent before she shrugged. "And most especially I am nothing like beautiful, daring Laila, of long golden hair and stunning body, and flawless power … or like sweet, lovely Elicia who fights to grow just as much as Tori does and who has the right explosive for every situation."

Owen froze as he heard these words but up to now, he hadn't realised what she was trying to say.

"I am nothing compared to them and I fear being nothing my whole life because I can't twirl kunai through my fingers and I can't stab daggers through someone's heart because I would end up hurting myself and … and I can't force myself to be as strong as the people need me to be. I am nobody compared to everyone else in my family," she went on. "And my friends are far stronger than I am as well. But I always broke that shell if my teammates needed me to."

And suddenly, there was a fire inside of her, a fire he had seen with Laila but never with Nerissa and this made this girl so dangerous.

"In the middle of a forest, with my teammates lying behind me, and my first true brush with death at my front," Min Li said eerily softly, "I took the kunai my uncle gave me as a present … and stabbed it straight through a former friend's heart, besting my betters. I forgot weakness and uncertainty … and I forgot what it feels like to be a no one." Her blue eyes blazed with the fire Victoria had shown this one time when someone had nearly managed to kill Nick and Owen came closer to understanding than before. "Because these people wanted to hurt my teammates, want to take Jing and the others far away from me, and come Hell or high water, I will fight and I will _die_ to protect them."

And she remembered how in the middle of a forest, with drops of crimson on a yellow dress and blue eyes colder than ice, Min Li had learned strength and her opponents had learned what it meant to stand in a battle against a woman who saw her loved ones in danger.

"That's an amazing philosophy," Owen said as he smiled at her. "Loyalty towards your comrades gives you a personality behind a mask," he added before his eyes widened as he spotted their opponent.

* * *

Nerissa cursed as she saw who had come to take them down. She had hoped that it would be Cornelius who was one of the guardians of the elders but no, Dora had seen the threat she still was and had come personally to deal with them. This meant that it would be hard for Jade because Air Alchemy was mainly made for long-distance … and Dora fought close-range.

"I really wished that I was colour-blind right now," Jade muttered under her breath as she stared in shock at the yellow dress with the pink fur hems. Seeing that she came from a family where most people had actually some taste in fashion, she felt like pouring bleach into her own eyes.

"I can understand this feeling," Nerissa replied as she wheeled forward to face her relative. "Jade, go straight ahead. I will catch up with you later. Don't worry about me, alright?"

The black-haired woman sighed deeply. "If you get yourself killed, I get you back via Human Transmutation and kill you personally," she said darkly before she hurried away. She understood just like she had understood before. She was a former soldier. She was used to getting orders and obeying them even though she usually didn't listen to Nerissa or another person but her mother who actually knew better – something which couldn't be said about Nerissa.

Dora smirked at Nerissa as she looked at her. "You haven't changed since the last time I saw you," she said calmly. "Well, the wheelchair is new but the rest … you look just as always."

"My strength wasn't influenced by my accident," the blonde said as she crossed her arms. "Still, I see no reason why you should attack me. We had this before … and you know that I can beat you any day of the week, Dora. So, get out of my way and let me help the others."

* * *

It was a pretty bad situation for Min Li.

Owen had been knocked out by a lightening bolt and up to now, she had been dodging lightening attacks that had been meant for her instead of landing a blow of her own. She hated this more than anything else because it meant that she was helpless and she hadn't been helpless since that failed mission that had taken Lee's life and that had led eventually to the disbandment of her old team. She screamed a soundless battle cry as she charged forward. Not again, never again, she would be too weak to protect someone she cared for. She grabbed the kunai from her belt and for the first time, in a long time, she just didn't care for the injuries she might suffer or for the embarrassment of hurting herself all over again because there was no other way for her with Owen's life on the line.

A fist made of stone came up and hit her stomach so that she fell to the ground with her kunai a few metres away from her, out of reach with might be fatal for her.

"Empty courage is not the way to victory," her opponent said. "It will make your suffering only longer and even harder to endure, little girl."

"It wasn't empty," she said as she forced herself to stand up again. "My courage is never empty."

"Judging your injuries, the outcome of this battle is obvious," the man replied calmly. "You have lost and I have won. You are nothing but a failure."

Failure.

She hated this word and she hated that she was branded by it again. And as she struggled to stand straight no matter how much it hurt, she felt how a knot burst inside of her and she _remembered_.

'You are no failure, Min! You grow at your own pace and when it counts, you will bloom.' Lee.  
'Whoever calls you a failure, is a complete fool. You are no failure. You are an amazing girl.' Ping.  
'You were top of our class and you were the first of us to reach the level of a full-fledged bodyguard. I really don't get what else they need to see before they learn to accept you.' Jing.

The word echoed in her mind. Failure. True, she had failed multiple times when she had broken under the pressure her family had put her under but she wasn't going to give up now because she had to prove now that she had grown into a stronger person.

The pain made her tumble as she stood. "I can't lose," she said softly.

"You are going to," the man replied amused.

"Never," she hissed. "I won't disappoint anyone anymore."

They clashed again, this time in hand-to-hand combat which was her forte but usually, she wasn't this injured. She wasn't as surprised as she should have been when a fist broke through her defence and knocked her back down – again.

"I hate your kind of person," the man said dangerously softly as he picked up a knife. "And seeing that you are just like Kay, always struggling to stand up again even if you were knocked down hundred times, we need to get rid of you completely." He grabbed her shoulder and dragged her up so that she was looking at him. "I am sorry, Xingese doll. You are such a pretty girl … and if you wouldn't be this damned loyal, you could have stayed alive…"

"I would never give up on my friends," she replied harshly.

"Just like I said: too much like Kay, God bless her soul," he sighed.

A cough from the doorway made him look over his shoulder and the next thing he knew was that there was a steady kunai on his throat. "You might want to let go of her," a voice with a heavy Xingese accent said calmly. "Or your blood will be shed."

Min Li was released and before she could fall to the floor, a strong arm supported her. "You are okay," another voice said as she was turned around. "Long time no see, Min Li, but you didn't change."

"Ping!" she smiled surprised as she relaxed against him. "How are you?"

"Can't complain, princess," he grinned. "C'mon, Lee, say Hi to her."

"L-Lee?" she asked as she frowned slightly. "But he **died**…"

"Sorry to disappoint you, Min," the fourth member of the team grinned as he wrapped one arm around her to support her as well. "I was merely captured and tortured – but I stayed silent."

"And as soon as Jing left to be an Imperial Bodyguard and you went with your mother, I took some months off from my duty towards my clan and took the time to search him," Ping grinned as he took a little bottle from his belt to dip the tip of his kunai in it before he carefully scratched their opponent's skin. "Our dear little Lee was taken by the Fei-clan."

"That doesn't surprise me," Min Li muttered as she leaned against her old friends. "I missed you, guys. I really did. Especially you, Lee."

"We missed you as well," Lee smiled as he looked at Ping. "What kind of poison did you use this time?"

"Just something that will paralyse him for the next few hours," the other boy replied with a shrug. "My older brother created it and said that it would be pretty useful for such situations."

"That's true," the girl replied as she smiled up at him. "But how did you find me anyway?"

"Jing called Ping a week ago and said that you were in Amestris," Lee said. "So we decided that we should come as well. When we reached East City, we ran into Her Highness, your aunt. Seeing that she remembered Ping as a part of your old team, she asked us to tag along with her. And since guarding the empress is a very honourable thing to do, we agreed. And it played out that she wanted to help you here and stole your mother's old mask among other things. Well, now we are all here."

"And the team of the Great Four can teach these people some manners," Ping said darkly as he let go of the only girl on their old team. "Anyway, we need to leave you in Jing's care now because we need to return to the empress. We will meet up with you soon enough, I promise."

* * *

Edward stared at the young man with the long dark hair who had just destroyed the whole roof with a single transmutation. "What kind of freak are you?" the blond man asked as he stood in front of Elicia.

"Oh, my name is Cornelius Hawkeye," the man said softly. "I am the guard of the elders and therefore, I am currently the strongest fighter of the family. Well, besides the princesses, of course."

"Who are the princesses?" Elicia asked as a shiver ran down her spine.

"Formerly it was the four sisters: Nerissa, Kay, Helena and Serena," the black-haired man said calmly as a shadow darkened his face. "But after Kay and Helena were murdered, Laila and Victoria took their respective places. Well, and I am not sure how I would do against Nick and Berthold either."

"Well, if you see yourself lower than Victoria and Laila, I might win against you," Edward said.

"Oh no, I think that I _could_ beat them," Cornelius said. "I just wouldn't do it seeing that Kay and Helena used to be my favourite cousins and it would be wrong for me to hurt their daughters."

"Why do you have to have such a complicate codex of honour?" Edward groaned.

"I am a Hawkeye. This much is expected from me," he replied.

"So, Mr Hawkeye," Elicia said. "Seeing that we are on Victoria's side, you cannot hurt us?"

"It's different," he said after a second of hesitation. "I am duty-bound to defeat everyone who raises his hand against the elders. Would I be to face Victoria, I would allow myself to be defeated be her. I don't have the same freedom when it comes to you and so I will fight you seriously."

"Can you at least spare Elicia?" Edward asked after he looked up to the destroyed roof. "She is just here because she wants to help her boyfriend and his sister. I don't care how much you hurt me because I am guilty of Lynn's death but … don't hurt her as well."

"I will honour this wish," Cornelius said before he took a step back. "But you know that I will defeat you, Mr Elric. I heard that you couldn't even hold your own against the Mustang-heiress and well, you might want to see how she looks after I got to her," he said as he mentioned towards the couch where Jade lay, knocked out and with more bruises than before. "She is a good fighter with the tragic tendency to forget herself when she gets angry enough," he commented drily. "I expected more from her."

Elicia let out a choked scream as she hurried over to Jade who was pale and cold. "Is she … is she…?"

"No, no," Cornelius said. "Not yet, at least. I would never kill the best friend Helena ever had. This would be wrong of me but seeing that I believed her to be on Nerissa's level, I went a little bit too far when I fought her, Miss Hughes. She will recover in time, I promise, as long as she gets medical attention soon enough."

"Alright," Edward said as he handed his jacket to Elicia. "You take care of Jade, alright? I could never forgive myself if something would happen to her or you … and neither your father nor her cousin would ever allow me to forgive myself."

"A man of honour…" Cornelius said softly. "It has been a long time since I met someone like you."

"Likewise," Edward said without any sarcasm. "Not many would have promised to stay away from Elicia. This shows that you have at least some backbone."

* * *

Laila felt how her leg broke as she crashed to the ground and for a second, she looked into the direction of her brother but just as she looked at Nick, a lightening struck his chest and he went down a few metres away from her. She reached out to touch his hand but she couldn't do this. She looked around as good as she could. Min Li had been carried here by Jing a few minutes ago to help them but both of them had fallen under the power of Maxime's lightening attacks pretty fast. Jade hadn't appeared yet despite what Nerissa had said before she had passed out after someone had pushed her over along with her wheelchair. Seeing that she had been already injured when she had arrived, maybe this had been part of the reason that she was unable to fight.

But suddenly, the smile returned to Laila's face as she heard familiar footsteps on the stairs. She knew the pattern of Victoria's steps by heart and so she knew who was coming there. It was rare for Victoria to be late and just like usually, she was just in time.

She heard how Min Li let out a sigh of relief as Victoria appeared in the doorframe, dressed in a wide black skirt and a white blouse while her hand was pressed onto her side.

She was a pathetic sight as she stood in the doorway yet Jing had to admit that even most warrior would have ran away. She wiped away the blood coming from her forehead and her eyes held sadness and pain about everything that had happened. "I knew that someone with a little bit more intelligence was behind Nerissa's accident," she said softly as she took a small step forwards and held out her hand. "Hand me back my gloves and I might forgive you."

Jing was shocked by the softness in her voice before he spotted the blazing anger in her eyes. No, she wasn't out to forgive anyone. She was out to take revenge for her brother who was on the ground, beaten and defeated … and for her sister who stared at the night sky with open eyes, unable to move because of her injuries … and for everyone else who was in no better condition.

"I am amazed that you can even stand after the blow we dealt you," the man said amused. "It killed stronger fighters than you before. Well, maybe I am getting old, Miss Victoria."

"The blow means nothing in comparison to the pain it causes me that you didn't hesitate to shed your kinsmen's blood," the girl replied as she dropped the hand that had held her side. "And I don't need Healing Alchemy to close such a wound. I froze it shut … yes, combat alchemy can be useful for such purposes as well, _Maxime_."

"No matter when, people weren't judged for their names or their titles but for what they truly were when stripped off these disguises," the man said. "This is part of the flow we live in. this is why we have geniuses like your grandmother and weaklings like your granduncle. And you are just like him. You can change your dress and pick up a sword but you will always be weak. And you will be judged by the things you can never change, Miss Victoria. You are what you are: a terrified little girl who is still missing her mother who was a strong woman – which I won't deny – but you are a failure … just like your aunts."

"And yet, you won't be able to change that I would rather die than to hand over my title to you," she replied calmly. "All my life I have been top of my class and all my life, I have been searching for ways to heal the wounds of our family. If this war is your answer, well, I can give you a war." She knelt down to form another sword. "I promised my mother once that I would give the family a chance to grow back together, a chance to be one again. And because I also said that I would never break a promise, I fear that I have to explain you that I am not afraid to cut off the rotten branches of the tree so that the tree can continue to exist."

"Your mother would have been proud of you but your words won't change your fate."

"This is true … and I am tired of running away from you all the time. You can push me down and take my wings but you will never manage to keep me on the ground. That's not who I am."

"But running is the only thing you are really good at, little girl."

"Yes, but not running _away_," she shot back as she grabbed the sword. "I run into a better future, one, I wanted to share with everyone. You might not understand me yet … but I see light."

"I tell you something, little girl," he said. "Unless you finally realise what you truly want, you will never be a match for those who know their goals. I know my goal: to erase Ardelia's children from the face of the earth. Your grandmother had a similar goal which is why we didn't murder her. But still, you aren't like her."

She stayed silent as she raised her sword. "I won't be able to keep fighting for a long time," she whispered, "but I promise that in the end, you are going to take back what you said. You will take back what you said about Nerissa and Serena. You will take everything back and you will beg for mercy because even if you are a better fighter than me and even if my body is close to fail me … I just cannot afford to lose this fight. I never learnt to give up or to lose because every time I was defeated in a spar, Laila told me to keep trying because hey, I am the smartest member this family has seen in two centuries. I won't fail my reputation as a genius … I cannot do this to those who already believed in me before I did. Nerissa, Jun Li, Serena, Min Li, my siblings and my parents – it's for them and not for me."

It was the determination in her that surpassed everything Jing had known so far. Even Ling Yao with his constant _I-will-be-emperor-one-day-_speeches had never reached such a level.

"If you keep living and fighting for others, you will end up like Berthold, this fool," the man stated. "You will lose your own ambition and goals out of sight."

"I have good eyes, this won't be a problem," she replied. "And there are worse people to be like than grandfather Berthold if you ask me."

"As a leader, you should have learnt to stay focused on your mission by now," he hissed.

"My mission is to keep my friends and family save – I wonder what's yours," she said before she finally attacked. Like she had said before, she wasn't a gifted user of martial arts but her sword fighting skills made up for it and her determination was visible in her prowess as she damaged her opponent seriously because she had fought better Lightening Alchemists before and she had no trouble with dodging it.

"Like your mother," the man shrugged before he went on with another attempt to break her mentally. "It was surely hard to grow up without a proper family, Miss Victoria…"

"I think that you forgot who I am," she replied sharply as she dodged another blow from him. "I am Victoria Olivier Hawkeye Hamilton, a member of the League of Alchemists. My dream is to see nothing but smiles in the future. And to be better than my aunts one day … to become more badass than my father … to become a better leader and fighter than my mother! These are my dreams and don't you dare to laugh at me!"

Behind Jing, someone was coughing up blood and Min Li who had taken the blow for the blond girl earlier sat up before she wiped away the blood from her mouth as she struggled to stand up. "I cannot let her fight alone," she said as she forced herself to stand. "I would be the most pathetic team leader the academy has ever seen if I allow this madness to continue. Damn, why do broken bones have to hurt like this? I don't care. I need to stand…"

"Stay down," Jing ordered calmly as he looked at Lee who was still out after taking a lightening bolt straight to his chest. "We cannot afford to interrupt this battle. You used to say that you were raised to be a fighter … and I understand your wish to help your friend … but you can't right now because you are injured. I want to help as well but I cannot move my arms."

"I don't care about things like this," she replied. "Yes, I have no feeling in my left arm either and to move them is really difficult right now but … I can still use my legs and I learnt how to use them. And if he breaks my legs, I am going to bite him. I won't lose another friend."

"So … what are you going to do now?" he asked as she nearly collapsed after taking a first step.

"I was the leader of our team that means that I was top of my class back then … and I still am in a way, I guess," she said as she scratched an array into the ground. "I was the first of our year to be a full-fledged bodyguard – in spite of the issues I have with weapons in general. I came this far with nothing but my determination to prove everyone wrong. I am no genius like you or Tori – but I am a fighter to the boot. And no matter how often they brought me down, I got up and became even stronger." She grabbed the kunai she had created and brushed back a few strands of her hair. "To be a member of the Wei-clan means to be willed to give your life for another person. My aunt cut off her own arm to protect my uncle when they had our age. If necessary, I would do the same for Victoria."

* * *

Edward was on the ground while he stared up at Cornelius. "Just how strong are you?" he asked.

"Pretty strong," the guard said with a shrug. "I am the strongest among Maxime's children."

"But if you are this strong … why do you obey? You could lead them…"

"Unlike my kinsmen, I see no temptation in power," he replied calmly. "I accept Victoria as my superior – this is part of the reason why I would forfeit a direct battle against her. I am more loyal than most of my kinsmen after all and I accept that Ardelia had good reasons to take the power from my ancestor. Yet I won't stand up against my elders because this would be betrayal."

"You are an idiot," Edward said as he glared at the other man and sat up. "You want Victoria to be head of family, right? That means that you are sick and tired of these fights … so, if you want it all to stop, you just have to stand up against your elders. They won't be in power once Victoria won anyway. To make a clear statement now might save you from the prison that awaits the elders…"

"To defy the elders would be suicide," the black-haired man said darkly. "They have their ways."

"To obey them any longer would be murder," Edward replied. "They will kill Victoria and Laila when they get the chance – and not even Nerissa is currently able to stop anyone. I met Lynn just once but she might have had the authority you need to stop this madness."

"No one ever defied elders and lived to tell the tale," Cornelius said.

"So you are just a coward who hides himself behind an insane amount of power?" the sharp and harsh voice of Xing's one and only empress rang out. "I want you to know that I defied my elders and as you can see, I am still standing. So man up a little bit. I won't allow your family to kill my niece, my friends and allies for such a stupid reason."

Behind her stood two Xingese teenagers Edward had never seen before but they were probably her bodyguards. It was funny how a former bodyguard was required to have bodyguards now but it was probably more a matter of protocol than a real worry on Ling's behalf.

"To be a traitor to people who see no worth in another human being's life, is hardly a mistake," one of the Xingese boys said as he brushed back his bang to show his scar. "I paid a high price for doing the right thing … and yet, I would do it all over again."

"Lee is right," his friend said. "And you can take down the blond guy and maybe even one of us … but you will never be able to get all of us. And who isn't with us…"

"…is against us," Jade said as she finally had regained the strength to sit up again. "The real power comes from loyalty and friendship – and not from duty or honour."

Edward got up and held out his hand to Cornelius. "Join us," he said. "We have always a place for someone with a heart that beats for others. Don't worry … we won't hurt you or your dreams."

Lan Fan nodded. "Many of us started out like this," she said. "But in the end, it's not the fight that decides about friendship and being a team but the decision we make afterwards."


	28. 192: New Resolve

**New Resolve**

* * *

Laila heard the blood running through her head as she stared at the sky above her. The ceiling had been ripped away along with the roof half an hour ago when Nick and Berthold had taken it a little bit too far but if anything, the stars gave her new strength even though her leg was still hurting. She sat up and stared at the strange angle her shin formed before she closed her eyes for a second. "Screw this," she muttered before she pulled herself back to her feet by grabbing a pillar and _hoping_. She was good at hoping for the best, they all were. They had never had another chance. They had been fools all along but they had been fools with a dream and with the belief that everything would be fine again. Right now, she wondered if they really could make it because Victoria was already breathing hard and Nick was still out. But Laila erased these thoughts from her mind as she leaned against the pillar with her gloves around her hands. They were her armour when she couldn't have any kind of protection.

But as she stood there, Nerissa opened her eyes and because the shade of blue was identical, Laila could remember Serena who had been a firm believer in hope and the chance to change ones destiny when she had been younger, before bitterness and death of beloved ones had ripped this away from her. "The hope that is usually cheerful yet serene can be as supporting to the body as it is to the mind," she had once said. "So I believe that it is the most vital emotion mortals are capable to feel and that it is the blood of our soul, the eternal power that pushes us over our own limits."

And right now, this fire that had been passed down in Ardelia Hawkeye's line fore more than a century burned in Laila brighter than before. It was Nerissa's _Screw-the-odds-and-_**fight**-attitude. It was Serena's _Look-there-I've-still-an-array-to-use-_grin. It was Kay's _A-true-fighter-never-gives-up-laugh_. It was Lynn's _I-may-not-be-the-strongest-but-I-am-strong-enough-to-defeat-you_-will. It was Riza's _To-defy-fate-is-my-hobby_-smile that was always hidden. It was Berthold's _No-determination-can-outmatch-mine_-attitude.

It was the will that had made them all do impossible things. Nerissa had fought with injuries that had killed lesser (wo)men. Serena had grown into a wonderful woman. Kay had been the first to master lightening alchemy even though the Maxime-line had worked on this since Ardelia had taken the power. Lynn had been the best fighter Nerissa had ever encountered – not because of her strength but for her intelligence. Riza who had fought even after nearly bleeding to death was just as strong as her father who had broken all ties with his family and home to save them all.

And Laila was about to write her name down in the row of awesome people she knew.

* * *

Ping Fan opened his left eye after he had been thrown to the floor after something had exploded. "Hell … I need to find Min … I have to support her…" he muttered as he got up and tumbled down the hallway Lan Fan had blown up seconds before. He had heard before that the empress always had quite a few bombs with her but he had not expected that she would use them like this. Still, his mind was focused on the task ahead of him. He had to find Min Li to get her out of this mess. Sure, Jing would be trying to do the same thing but since he was in love with the Wei-girl, he lacked the ability to grab her and carry her away when she refused to be saved.

Somewhere next to him, Lee got up and followed him. "We are truly fools," he muttered. "We should have stayed with Min once we finally found her. I don't want our team to be ripped apart again."

"Me neither," Ping replied as he remembered his loneliness after Lee had been kidnapped, Jing had became an Imperial Bodyguard and Min Li had been too busy with her own duty to stay in contact with him. Some would say that it was a normal part of growing up but no other team had fallen apart this quickly – well, no other team had consisted of four geniuses, five, if you counted their old instructor.

"Still, Meimei said that you often visited her in the last few years…" Lee said as he looked at his best friend. "She was surprised because she thought you would be too busy to look after a cripple…"

"Her injury wasn't crippling," Ping huffed. "She was just unlucky to fall down this tree and her leg was broken in quite a difficult way but she made a full recovery. And I was her student. It was basically my duty to be there for her in these hard months until she could run again…"

"I tried to apologise for letting her down when she needed me the most," Lee muttered as they walked down the hallway. "But you know her: she is one stubborn woman. Pretty, no doubt, since she has half of the male population of our village running after her … but she's always proud and therefore she turns down every man who tries to court her. She might end up old and alone."

"I doubt this," Ping muttered. "You always said that the Cho-clan always found a matching partner."

"You actually listened to me when I spoke for hours about my clan?" Lee asked with a grin.

"Lee, we have been best friends since we were toddlers and I am very patient – that comes from all the years I had to study herbs for poison and their antidotes. Anyway, we need to find Min Li now."

"So your loyalty still lies with her," the boy with the scar said. "I shouldn't be surprised, I guess. You were always a little bit too obsessed with making her grow a little bit taller…"

"Let's say it this way: one of my aunts was there when she was born and so I knew all along whose daughter Min Li is. That I used to call her princess to annoy her was on purpose even though she believed her secret to be safe," Ping said. "I knew that I was the only one outside the Wei-clan who knew about this because my aunt died on a mission when I was five, shortly before we were send into the academy. I am no fool; I understood that she was a princess three seconds after seeing her. I also realised that it is not her lack of skill that made her hurt herself over and over when she took out her weapons. The problem is that she hates the idea of killing even though she showed no remorse when it was the only way to save one of us. Deep down, she is truly her mother's daughter but she has the kindness and the mind of a Yao. She is the granddaughter of Jun Yao after all."

* * *

Min Li breathed hard as she accepted the challenge Dora Hawkeye had thrown at her. It was less a matter of pride than a matter of necessity but the Xingese girl was a pride young warrior and she disliked the idea that a seemingly beaten opponent would return into the battle to cause new problems. And so she fought against a woman who happened to be a master of combat alchemy and even though she knew that she hadn't anything that would have allowed her to compete with the woman, she refused to give up right now because this would mean that she was weak and she wasn't weak.

Battle alchemy was one of the most dangerous styles of alchemy anyone had ever created and Dora had the same prowess Basque Grand had once possessed before Scar had murdered him. For Min Li, it was the worst match possible but she couldn't run away now because she had run too often.

"You are fast, little girl," Dora taunted as she created more and more chains. "You are faster than I imagined you to be … but it won't help you because in the end, this battle will be decided by experience and not by luck … and my experience is bigger than yours will ever be."

"I still refuse to give up to someone like you," the Xingese girl said as she wielded her katana to defend herself against the chains. "It's not because I am afraid to die or of getting hurt. I am just sick of watching other people cry! I never want to see my friends and my family sad! That's what I fight for!"

"Such a noble girl, how fitting for a little princess," the alchemist grinned. "But you know the outcome just as good as I do, don't you? You know that you will fall under my hammer…"

It was all in moment that Laila was felled by a blow once more and that Victoria flew once across the hall before Min Li was struck down as well. For their generation and their age, they were geniuses on the battlefield but they were no real match for Dora's chains or Maxime's lightening in the end.

Suddenly, a well-known voice echoed through the castle as the speakers awoke to new life.

_"This is Berthold and Edward speaking along with Jade – and the Xingese duo, of course,"_ the Flame Mage said. _"As you might have guessed, we overtook the centre of command."_

_"So yeah, we can see you all while you can't see us,"_ Edward chuckled. _"It doesn't look all that well for you guys right now, huh?"_

Victoria raised her head from where she was laying on the ground and a faint smile crossed her face.

_"Laila, I used to think that you are a spoilt little brat,"_ Edward said seriously. _"But c'mon and prove me wrong, will you? Don't stay down there in the dirt. That's not where you belong to! Get up and fight!"_

The blonde's hands formed tight fists as she pushed herself up once more. "Understood," she smirked as she grabbed a new pair of gloves from her belt. "I can't let an old friend down after all, can I?"

She formed a crutch out of stone and forced herself back to her feet a second time. She was a member of the Hawkeye-family and they had never known when to quit because quitting was for losers and fools and they were none of the above.

_"Nessa … honestly, I still can't stand you all that much … always acting so high and mighty just because you are a little bit powerful … you are stupid and reckless, you are not that powerful and yet … you always fight with all you have and more … and I cannot help but admire this trait,"_ Jade said softly while she chocked a few times. _"I couldn't do anything. I was defeated in five minutes flat."_

"It's impressive that she stood this long against Cornelius," Dora commented while the air alchemist collected herself again.

_"How can I hate you when you die? This wouldn't show any greatness on my behalf, would it? So … please, get up and keep fighting…" _the dark voice vanished in a coughing.

"You always have to be the drama queen, huh?" Nerissa asked as she sat up and dragged herself over to her wheelchair. "And stop talking this bad about yourself. We are equals after all."

_"Min, can you hear me? This is Ping speaking,"_ one of the boys said._ "Min … get up already, will you? You were our team leader, our hero, and a student of Meimei. You cannot lose to them. You just can't."_

The girl opened her right eyes as she smiled up at the speaker. "You cannot hear me, Ping, but I hear you and **hell yes**, I will keep fighting," she said as she dragged herself up.

_"Even with Laila, Nessa and Min Li back on their feet, this won't be enough!"_ Jade said worried.

_"That's why we will join the battle as well, Jade,"_ Edward said. _"C'mon, you have been hit against the chest and once more, you broke your rips. That cannot be a reason for you to stay down, Jade. You fought with such injuries before, didn't you?"_

_"Victoria, Victoria – can you answer us?"_ Jean Havoc called out. _"Fuery hacked the intercom, so we can talk with you as well. Timms sees you from his position on one of the roofs. What the hell are you doing? Get the hell up and keep fighting. We … all of us believe in you and we carry you through this."_

The red-haired girl grinned widely as she stood and stroke back a strand of her hair. "I was simply relaxing," she said as she returned into her fighting stance. "I still want some band aid for my stomach once this ordeal is over."

* * *

Cornelius froze as he heard voices and hid behind a pillar as he recognised two members of the Maxime-line. No matter how loyal he had been a few hours ago, he had seen the right path and he would follow it to the end even if this meant to go against everything he had believed in for years.

"…Cornelius was brilliant against the Mustang-heiress," the woman said as she unlocked a door. "I haven't expected him to hurt his beloved Helena's best friend this badly."

"And I couldn't imagine that he would win against a state alchemist like this," the man replied as he followed her. "On the other hand, this is Hundred Array Jade and we should consider the possibility that she might return – especially after the announcement earlier. She isn't one to be underestimated."

"And actually, there a few more than just hundred arrays to my disposal," the aforementioned woman said as she appeared right in front of them, dressed only in a corset and black pants. "He crushed a few of my rips but I won't give in. I was a part of solution X for a reason all, wasn't I?"

"You are the first to stand up after fighting Cornelius this quickly," the Maxime-woman stated as she moved into her fighting stance. "Too bad that you ran into us of all people direct afterwards because this means that you will be defeated again – and unlike Cornelius, we aren't above killing you."

"Wonderful," she replied as she bent her knees and wiped out a knife. "I guess that this means that you aren't afraid to be killed by me, are you? Unlike others like Elric or my brother, I am not above killing as well. I believe that it's a natural part of life that the stronger win against the weak ones."

"Just how strong are you that you are still standing after taking one of Cornelius' blows straight to the chest?" the man asked as he stared at the knife. "You are a monster."

"It's not nice to call me this," she said as she smirked. "I am human – unlike you people who hurt little children out of some strange idea of fun or who force a fifteen-year-old girl to fight fifty chimeras. I am just someone who never gives up as long as I can see light at the end of the tunnel."

For a moment, Cornelius considered to join her battle before he shook his head. No, Hundred Array Jade as she was nicknamed in the scene was probably more than enough to deal with them. Looking back, he wondered how he had been able to defeat her when she was this strong and famous.

"You are too slow, both of you," the black-haired Mustang-woman stated as she spun around to block a first attack. "And now, it's my turn, I guess. Air Alchemy is usually more fitting for long range fights as any idiot knows but … I guess that fighting you with other means gives me the chance to try out my new gloves. Oh, the chancellor wasn't lazy these last years. He created the one-for-everything-array."

* * *

Edward froze as he found Riza as she sat on the floor while an old woman had her head rested on the former sniper's lap. Chains were wrapped around the woman's wrists and she was clearly dying because no person would lose so much blood without passing away. It was a strangely emotional scene, he decided. He knew that it was just as much Riza's family as it was Victoria's or Laila's but still, it seemed strange because this was Riza and she was supposed to be strong, maybe even stronger than people like Nerissa who always got out of everything because of their luck.

"To die like this … I expected this," the old woman sighed. "Still, I love you all, Riza, and tell your father that he should make sure that Helena's daughter won't be treated like her mother. That's the last wish I have to make in this place. Bert and Albus … I go ahead."

"I will tell them this," the blonde promised as a single tear fell down. "And I won't leave you alone."

Edward felt strangely attracted to the scene and stepped closer before he sat down next to the both women. "Anything I could do?" he asked as he stared at the injuries.

"No, no, boy," Helen smiled as she slowly closed her eyes. "Just … don't leave me alone yet."

"Understood," he replied as he lowered his head. "How did this happen anyway?"

"She … she took an attack for me," Riza said as her grandaunt stopped breathing and her face relaxed. "I couldn't do anything. Victoria could perhaps have saved her but she is currently fighting somewhere else and I couldn't bring myself to leave her to get her…"

"I understand," Edward said. "But where is Victoria fighting right now?"

"Main hall – where Nick and dad blew up the roof half an hour ago," she replied as she picked up the lifeless body of her grandaunt. "We need to find a place where she can rest before she will be buried."

"…but you have to mourn properly once this is over, Riza," he said.

"Believe me, I am going to do this, Edward," she said as she looked down at the peaceful face. "She was one of my favourite relatives – unlike Aunt Dora. Once this is over, I will mourn over her death but right now, I will keep fighting because she wouldn't have wanted me to abandon all of you."

* * *

Victoria felt how she slowly lost consciousness but she forced herself to keep fighting. She couldn't let the others down now. Her right arm hung down weakly after she had used it to block an particular strong blow and now it was broken but she still had her left one and she punched Maxime with all her might one last time before she finally went down, exhausted and too tired to raise her arm once more.

"Let it be, Vicky," her sister said as she limped over to her. "I take care of the rest."

"I don't think that this will be necessary," Jean Havoc said as he stepped into the room, followed by the other members of the old Team Mustang, his wife and the infamous Stevens/Timms-duo.

"Who the hell are you people?" Maxime asked as he hesitated for a moment as he took in the uniforms.

"First of all, we are friends of Riza and therefore we don't take it kindly when someone hurts her children and secondly … well, we know these kids for a long time and we can't have you hurting them."

Stevens and Timms nodded seriously as they stood back to back to prevent any sneak attacks. They were an infamous team by now and their appearance had never meant anything good for opponents.

"Min Li!" Ping said as he caught his victorious teammate who was bloodied and beaten but so proud that she had won this fight. "You grew so much," he whispered into her ear as he held her close to his own body. "You grew so beautifully in these years, Min. You truly became an elite bodyguard."

"Meimei would be proud that you mastered the katana," Lee agreed as he hugged her as well. "You are beautiful and strong now, Min, you are truly the rose of Team Meimei now."

"Thank you so much," she whispered. "I didn't think that this would be possible for me."

"Oi, you bastard over there," Owen said as he dragged himself into the room. "Take your filthy hands away from my girlfriend, alright? You aren't worth touching her after plotting her mother's death!"

The Storm Alchemist had finally recovered from his injuries. He was the student of one third of the original Mustang Three (Abigail, Abel and Izumi had been the other parts), the student of the Storm Wizard (Alain who had never understood how people could call him this without breaking down in laughter), the student of Breeze Heart who was renowned for his endurance (Phil) and the infamous Hundred Arrays Jade. Maybe his teachers had given him more than just the arrays and the methods to use them to the best result. Maybe he had also gotten a part of the strength along the way.

"Who the hell are you?" Dora asked as she turned around, bloodied and beaten after Min Li had reflected the chains. "And do you seriously think that you could beat us? You are just a state alchemist, high on the power your masters gave you. You aren't even a worthy opponent for us."

"What … what did you just say?" Victoria whispered as she suddenly stood straight. "Did you just insult him, Dora? Did you just insult my … boyfriend?"

"This is bad!" Nick said as he took a step back. "When Vicky gets mad, it's the end of a battle."

* * *

"…you are still too slow," Jade said eerily calm as she dodged another blow. "Seriously, I never knew that Lynn was afraid of such weaklings. She could have taken you down any day of the week after all – and I am not kidding about this. You are fools if you believe that this would be enough to take me down. I believe that you underestimate what it means to fight a state alchemist."

"I don't understand how you can be this strong if you lost this quickly against Cornelius!" the woman panted as she tried an icicle attack that was blocked with ease.

"I tell you," Jade said darkly as she formed a lightening bolt. "He is a kindred spirit. Both of us loved good old Lynn a little bit too much to get over her death completely in the past eleven years. In his eyes, I am probably the monster that stole Lynn away from her family. He had to defeat me to get stronger – just like Nessa had to believe that I gave up. I don't mind being the step stone for others who are still on their way to power. I am not selfish anymore. I grew out of this."

"You are an idiot if you seriously believe that you could continue like this," the man stated as he narrowly avoided the lightening attack. "Just how many arrays do you really have at your disposal?"

"One hundred fifty nine," she said as she drained a little more air away from them. "This is more than even Nerissa can use, I know. But like I said earlier, I wasn't named Hundred Arrays Jade without a reason. I got this name because of my ability to remember every move I ever saw in a battle."

"This is the reason why you never lost twice against the same opponent, right?" the man asked. "After the first defeat, you have all his moves and the next time, you can predict his attacks…"

"Correct," she said as she pushed her glasses up her nose again. "In the end, it starts and ends with a brain that can remember more than the average one and the ability to take more blows than the opponent. Well, as long as this opponent isn't my little brother because I would never win against him."

"I don't understand," the woman said frustrated. "I won against the Fullmetal Alchemist earlier…"

"Edward isn't even close to playing in my or Nerissa's league," Jade stated darkly. "But I have to admit that he is useful. You might wonder why I can stand and how I can still take blows to my chest. He strengthened my corset by transmuting metal into it. He is the specialist for metal after all and even I cannot match him there. Still, there are things I beat him at." She mentioned towards the array on the ground. "You were careless and now, you are in my trap. This is a seal array and even if you should be able to kill me, you would be forced to stay in it for the end of your life."

* * *

"…Jade is still out there, fighting like the maniac she is," Edward said to Riza. "Roy gave her a universal array before we left. I think that he knew that she wouldn't give in easily."

"She lied when she spoke with Nessa, didn't she?" Riza asked with a strangely empty voice.

"Yeah," he said softly. "We knew that we needed Nerissa to get up – because she isn't only a fighter. She is a symbol and so it was necessary that she got back up even though she felt like her chest was burning. I gave her some kind of protection for her rips that should also stable her movements a little bit."

"Iron into her corset, I guess," the blond woman said as she shook her head. "The old ways can prove to be the best when used correctly, I guess. But you have no clue what you unleashed when you told her to keep fighting, Edward. Jade is a part of Solution X, the state alchemist formation Bradley deemed as the strongest. If she will fight with everything she has, the castle will suffer."

"Solution X?" Edward asked with wide eyes. "I never heard from this…"

"It's a secret … my grandfather told me after he found the official papers in Bradley's old office," she said. "You see … Roy's range is limited to a radius of three hundred metres and no matter how hard he tries, he cannot surpass this limit. Well, not alone – that's the point. With Jade or Phil, he would reach a range of more than one kilometre … can you even imagine the destruction this would cause?"


	29. 193: Shattered Dreams and New Hope

**Shattered Dreams and New Hope**

* * *

"We cannot intervene," Serena said as she crossed her arms. She had been freed from the hospital by Phil and Olivier earlier to join a meeting regarding the situation. "If we intervene, we will endanger them even further. We simply have to believe into them right now."

"Serena … can't you do anything?" Roy asked as he looked at her.

She shook her head. "No," she said. "Even my ultimate defence would be cracked like a nut or this glass," she added as she threw her water glass to the floor where it shattered. "I am actually the one who would have been killed if not for Kay's inhuman strength so many years ago. You can count Ultimate Defence Serena out for this, Roy. Trust on Jade in this. You won't regret it."

"Hundred Arrays Jade is too careful to fight with her full strength," Phil remarked drily as he remembered the way the government had tried to get more women to join the state alchemist program. Bradley's helpers that given the few female state alchemists nicknames that sounded like a superhero and an appearance to match this name. There had been Lightening Goddess Kay, Hundred Arrays Jade, Ultimate Defence Serena and Healing Angel Helena. Phil had believed these names to be ridiculous back then but between alchemists, the two remaining still caused fear if not terror.

"Jade hasn't unleashed it since Lynn died," Roy said as he shook his head. "She is strong but … I am scared what might happen if she loses her cool another time. The last time, it took both of us to restrain her. If I had known that Bradley was behind it all, I wouldn't have restrained her…"

"No one would have held her back if we had known," Olivier said as she sat down on the windowsill. "Anyway, we need to consider our possibilities right now. I agree with Serena – to intervene now would mean more problems for the ones who are already fighting out there. So we will have to wait."

"And this is pretty hard on all of us because none of us is patient," Charlotte said as she crossed her arms and shook her head. "Anyway, just in case that Jade fights with everything she has, the castle will have to be reconstructed afterwards. She isn't the nicest person to fight against after all."

"Jade made a promise," Olivier stated as she shook her head. "We all made promises along the way and she swore that she would never kill again … and this forces her to hold back. She will probably try to bluff her opponent by telling him that she would kill … but this is just a lie. She promised after all."

"And sister dear stays true to her word," Phil agreed. "Therefore I am not too worried and hope that she will do what she does best: using more arrays than any other sane person."

"We have a good team on the battlefield right now," Leroy said in agreement. "I am curious how Nerissa will do after she got injured. I haven't seen her since it happened…"

"It's Nessa," Serena said as she rolled her eyes. "Nerissa is the kind of woman who always stands up after she gets defeated. She has no idea what losing is really like, I guess."

"Could we please talk about better things?" Bea asked as she shuddered slightly. "We were planning a wedding before we got distracted by the ongoing fight again."

"Of course, Beatrice," Charlotte smiled as she returned to her guest list. "Really, I remember the reason why I put you under Phil's command back in the good old days … you looked capable of keeping him in line," she added before she looked at Serena. "Are you inviting the other ministers?" she asked.

The blond woman shook her head. "This is supposed a small wedding, not some fancy event," she said quietly. "I am not Nerissa who dreams of a carriage with four white horses and more bridesmaids than she has fingers. I am more than happy with a … small and humble party."

Olivier decided to mention Nerissa's dreams when she would talk with Miles the next time.

"I understand," Phil said with a smile before he stared down at the folder on his lap. "I still have to ask you if you want red roses or white lilies for your bouquet, Serena."

"White lilies," she said as she stood. "I will go for a walk, alright? I won't leave the building, promised."

"Who are we to stop you?" Bendix asked with a smile. "We will keep planning, if you don't mind."

"No … I don't mind…" she muttered before she left the room.

"Poor Rena," Olivier stated as she looked up from her notes. "To be pregnant again after she had this miscarriage the last time … I hope that she will keep her nerves together."

"It's Serena," Roy said with a smile. "Serena, the Princess of Eternal Winter … she will stay strong."

"I will still check on her," Phil said as he got up from his chair. "She might need me."

* * *

"If you have metal in your corset, how can you still move like that?" Jade's female opponent asked as she tried to catch her breath. "Especially your back should be stiffer with this."

"Edward and I are both considered as geniuses," the black-haired woman said as she sat on the floor, utterly relaxed with her eyes half-closed while her glasses were still on her nose. "So we knew that this might be a problem and so there are many small parts of metal in this corset. It's like a light armour."

"I never expected Fullmetal and Breeze Soul to work together because you dislike each other…" the other woman replied as she stood again before she threw a disgusted glare at her male partner who had been knocked out before. "Anyway, what will the chancellor do if I kill his precious cousin? When I heard that we were under attack, I checked who is here and I made a ranking with who I wish to kill the most. I was slightly disappointed that your brother didn't join this operation, Soul. I wished to kill him for the longest time … he is a nuisance…"

"Care to repeat this?" Jade asked coldly as she got up in a fluid movement.

"Philippe Mustang, the Breeze Heart Alchemist … one of the strongest state alchemists … the one who surpassed even Miss Serena … the one who surpasses even Cornelius!"

"That is my little brother, alright," the air alchemist said as she glared at her opponent.

"He was supposed to die at the end of this … after you and everyone else he cares for … he was supposed to feel the desperation of a broken heart first…" the woman said. "Well, I guess that killing his weaker twin might be a start. I heard he nearly killed himself before when something happened to you. Maybe he will go through with it this time, Jadelina Mustang."

"You … you want to hurt my little brother?" Jade asked as her voice got even colder. "You want to hurt him by using me? I … cannot allow this to happen…"

"Too bad that I won't ask you for your opinion because my hatred has _deep_ roots," the woman smirked.

"Well, you just made this fight worthwhile for me," the state alchemist replied. "To threaten my brother is an unforgivable crime and I will punish you hard for this."

"For someone who stood just five minutes against Cornelius, you are truly arrogant," the other woman chuckled as she stared at the energy walls that surrounded them. "I admit that you know quite a few useful techniques but in the end, you will die."

"If I die, there will be no one to release the technique in time … and both you and your partner," Jade warned. "Even Serena who created this kind of technique won't be able to set you free."

"Our whole lives are centred on one goal," the woman replied. "We want the Breeze Duo and – via extension – the Solution X to die. If we manage to kill you, both teams will break apart. And I won't allow you to release the technique. Everyone inside this dome will die, Miss Minister of Science. It's the only way I see right now."

"Well, and here I thought that my eyes were the bad ones," Jade said as she shook her head. "I see at least one other option: everyone _lives_. Believe me, I've been friends with Lynn long enough to value another person's life … and I am not all that keen on taking yours."

"You have killed before, Mustang. What's so different now, Onyx Jade?" her opponent taunted.

"That this time, I have another option," she replied.

* * *

Serena sat on the stairs as Phil found her and sat down next to her. "Things haven't changed this much, Phil," she said with a frown. "You haven't changed at all."

"I am the stupid little brother, did you forget this? If I would change, it would ruin the thing Jade and I have going for us … the genius and her little brother show. And you haven't changed as well … Lieutenant Hamilton … and I am happy that you are still the same."

Serena looked down at her fists. Phil with his black eyes which saw so much more than anyone else's was looking at her, searching for a hint, anything that would make him understand her once more. And he would because he always did. They had met first during their time at the Western Military Academy and while their respective sisters had always hung out together, they had been friends as well and Phil knew all the little gestures she used to express herself when she had no words.

"You know, Serena, I am happy for you," he said softly as she said nothing. "You deserve happiness just as much as anyone else, girl."

"But … what if it happens again?" she whispered.

"It won't happen again, Serena. It will be alright this time."

"How can you be so sure about this?" she asked tiredly.

"Because I really … truly know you, Rena. And because you'd never lose a baby again because this time, everything is completely different."

They understood each other because they were so much alike. Both had older, strong-willed sisters and sometimes, they seemed to fade into the background while Nerissa and Jade were the stars.

She smiled at him while her fingertips danced across the cool steel of his automail. "I never asked you how you got this," she said softly. "I was such a bad friend before. All the time, I've been laughing with Roy and Riza and I totally forgot about you along the way, Phil."

"I never really talked about it," he said as he stared at the array on the back of his 'hand'. "No one asked, you know? Jade did but I lied to her … she probably figured out the basics but she only knows that it happened when I fought Envy … I could hardly do anything. Air Alchemy doesn't do a lot if your opponent doesn't need air to survive. It's more an assassination technique than anything else."

"Talk about it with me," she said softly as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I am a good listener."

"I know that," he said as he wrapped one arm around her. "I don't like to remember but since you asked, I will humour you, Serena. It happened to me when I was visiting squads of the Amestrian Army on the Cretan Border. First, he looked like a normal Cretan soldier but suddenly, I felt strange and I was on my guard. That saved me in the end," he said quietly. "The fight was hard and to be honest, there wasn't much I could do. His blade pierced me right here," he added as he mentioned towards his stomach, "and for a moment, I really thought that I was done for. Still, he thought that it was wiser to cut of my hand for good measure and to leave me there to die. Still, Bea found me and the rest is history. I got the automail and it saved many lives. I do not regret losing my original hand even though I felt like a freak in the first few weeks … and I miss feeling what I am touching," he ended quietly.

"Bea turned you into a softy, huh?" the blonde giggled as she playfully punched his side. "Seriously, what happened to gruff Phil who told the whole world that he would never fall in love?"

He smiled. "I think he grew up," he said kindly. "But you shouldn't worry about me, Serena. I believe that fear of something won't help anyone. And we grew close enough to share the secrets, didn't we?"

"So I passed the test?" she asked as she enjoyed the moment of friendship they just shared.

"Well, didn't you realise that I always trusted you? You aren't like the others, Serena, and this is great."

She pouted childishly. "Is that the reason why you never showed interest in me?"

"You deserved better than me, Serena, and I would have shattered your heart," he said seriously. "And I knew that I would make a mistake by going after you. We were meant to be friends. And before you can ask: yes, I found you attractive back in the days. I liked your short hair to tell the truth."

She laughed again as she grabbed a fist of her golden hair. "Well, I admit that it looked pretty," she said with a nod. "And I thank you again for being so honest, Phil."

"It's a curse in my family," he grinned. "We are always honest – and this sometimes gets us in trouble. And you should keep smiling, Rena. You are prettier than you smile."

"But I am always scared of making a mistake," she admitted.

"Sometimes, you just have to risk it," he said as he patted her head. "We have just one life to live and we shouldn't waste it with dwelling on lost chances. We can only move on, Serena."

"I see that your _We-have-no-time-to-waste-_policy hasn't changed along the years," she said softly.

"Yes," he replied as they looked up at the stars above them. "So you should give yourself a break every once in a while, Serena. You will kill yourself with all that work one day."

"I know," she admitted. "I kinda miss the days we spent with ice cream and music while Lynn and Jade were out in town," she said in a whisper as she sighed deeply. "I still can't believe that this is over."

He gently wiped away the tear. "Lynn wouldn't want you to miss her like this," he said. "She would want you to remember the good moments instead of the bad ones. And this world is ours now, you see? We just have to reach out and we could take it. It's simple, funny, the first simple thing we meet."

"After we met, there was never a moment of turning back, was there?" she asked tiredly. "Lynn and Jade knew it, didn't they? That was why Lynn married so early and why Jade never wasted a moment. They knew that it wouldn't last forever…"

"Yes," he admitted. "They knew better than we did. I am sorry, Serena. We were left behind before we even knew that there would be a battle. We are two of a kind, I believe. We always lose things that seemed so close … Lynn died … Martin died as well … and Jade grew cold right afterwards."

"They died together, the foolish three," the blonde agreed. "But, Phil, it's not your fault. You can fool anyone but me … your smile hasn't been right ever since then…"

"The same goes for yours, Serena," he replied with a sigh.

"We are still there, aren't we?" she asked tiredly. "No matter what happened, we stood tall … and we both survived Envy even though it was a close-call on your side."

"Perhaps we were both stronger than people thought us to be," he stated. "Or maybe it was luck."

"Luck?" she hissed as she failed to see his smirk. "I never relied on luck! Alchemy is science! Our whole technique base on logic … there is no place for things like fate or luck! You have to be kidding me!"

"Ah well, I forgot that the only thing you allow yourself to believe in is hope, milady," he chuckled.

"You have been manipulating me again, Phil!" she huffed.

"Does this mean that I won't be godfather?" he asked with a childish pout.

Her face fell again. "I always forget about you," she said as she hugged him tightly. "I am sorry but yes, you will be the godfather, I couldn't think of anyone else. You are like the annoying older brother I never had after all … and I care about you more than I care for Nerissa right now."

"That's harsh, little sister," he said softly.

* * *

"You haven't changed, Nerissa," the old lady said as the blonde wheeled into the small salon where Ardelia Hawkeye had been reading. "You're more patient today but the flame, well, it burns inside of you … bright and beautiful as always."

"I am not in the mood for your mind games, Ardelia," the blonde stated darkly as she looked around. "I've another bleeding injury on my leg and I want bandages before I can add 'fainting due to blood loss' to my growing list of health problems that made me unable to keep fighting."

"Your impatience is returning. You haven't been meditating lately, Nerissa."

"Lady Ardelia, when did I have the time to do this? Between getting myself paralysed, nearly killing myself or being forced to fight members of my own family?" she snapped. "Ever since we met so many years ago, you have been criticising me – just like my damned mother. Stop it – I've enough!"

"You are frustrated," Ardelia said calmly. "I can understand this but I fail to see what I did wrong. And it is a little bit harsh to compare me to Rain, isn't it? As far as I can remember, I never drove you crazy with my constantly shifting loyalties and affection…"

"You are just as bad because you never told anyone everything he would have needed to know. I don't know if you already noticed, old lady, but we are currently fighting for our lives. You could help me by telling me how to defeat Maxime because that bastard always gets up when we knock him down."

"You are right but … no one ever listened to my warnings," the old woman said with a faint smile.

"You are a better liar than Lynn but you are still bad," Nerissa scoffed. "Be honest with me at least."

"I was happy when you were disowned so many years ago," Ardelia suddenly admitted.

"I go away if this is another 'you would have been a terrible leader'-speech," the blonde warned.

"Perhaps you would … if you could walk," the old woman smirked. "No, I was happy because you would have been too good for this job. Lynn was better because she lacked the attitude you and Kay shared. I wonder how you were able to deal with the humiliation though. I expected bitter tears…"

"I was no child," Nerissa said coldly as she somehow managed to wrap the bandage around her leg. "I was old enough to understand the sense in the punishment I received for my mistake."

"You were six years old, Nerissa," Ardelia said softly. "You weren't old enough to understand the whole issue … because you couldn't even understand what you were doing when you nearly killed Kay and Riza. You were a victim of your own power … and of your damned mother."

"I cannot remember you saying something like this when I was disowned," Nerissa said darkly.

"You were too proud to accept help from an old woman back then."

* * *

Lan Fan was running through the hallways while she kept looking for someone with the power to stop this madness. It was insane, she decided as she grabbed the katana she had borrowed from her sister to make her way through the hired fighters from all the countries that surrounded Amestris. _'This was planned,'_ she realised. _'It was all one big plan and we all fell for it.'_

"I believe we just came to the same conclusion, empress," the collected voice of Berthold Hawkeye said as the man came around a corner. "We have been played like cards. The attack on Nerissa was supposed to get us mad enough to forget about the risks we would face if we were to attack them. Most of the people we are fighting are alchemists who have been trained for many years."

"So, how do we win against them?" she asked as she removed her mask for a moment.

"By believing into every single person who fights right now," he replied. "Nessa is out there … Jadelina Mustang … if she gets anywhere close to her mother, she isn't at the end of her power yet. It would be better if she had something very important to fight for this time…"

"I heard a few of these people talking about a Solution X…" she said with a confused frown.

"Solution X is the craziest and most dangerous idea that bastard Bradley ever had," Berthold said darkly as he knocked down another opponent with ease. "Some elements compliment and strengthen each other … like fire and air. The original plan was that the Breeze Duo and the Flame Alchemist would increase their range by working together … but even Bradley realised that the destruction would be the overkill. Anyway, alone, each of them is a force to fear but together…"

"This seems to be in fact a dangerous constellation," Lan Fan agreed. "Is this why you aren't worried?"

"I am worried for Victoria because she faced fifty chimeras afterwards. Hopefully she won't break down later. I will have to work on her endurance later on…"

"You are a lot like my grandfather," the empress said with a faint smile. "He had this strange way of complimenting people as well … but somehow, we always knew that he cared because it was in the rare smiles he gave us."

"Victoria has the potential and the ambition but she is easily discouraged and sometimes, she lacks the drive to keep training. I have no worries about her strong will in a fight but her body won't be able to support her properly if she doesn't train properly," Berthold muttered. "My sister – may she rot in hell – would call me a softy for worrying about Victoria … but Rain was hardly a person whose opinion regarding children should count. She managed to destroy her daughters after all."

"To worry about someone dear doesn't make you weak," she said. "Sometimes, it makes you strong. My grandfather used to scold us … Junnie, Chao and me. We were fools in his eyes because we were too young when we made decisions that dictated a whole lifetime. Junnie was nine, I was fourteen and Chao was just nineteen. We did this because we cared too much. Jun Li cared about our father's memory and wanted to protect it by following his path. I cared too much about Ling and Chao wanted to protect Min Li … and he wanted to show Junnie that he wasn't done for yet."

* * *

Nick watched from afar how Victoria collapsed into Owen's arms as he sat on the stairs with Laila next to him, half-asleep from the exhaustion but smiling while Cai sat on her other side.

"She is strong when she gets mad," the Xingese prince said as he raised one eyebrow. "And I never expected to see her getting this mad because of someone insulting Owen. I expected that it would take a serious attack or at least an attempt to hurt him…"

"This is Victoria's true strength," Laila said as she opened one eye. "She is calm and collected, alright, but only as long as there is no need for her to fight seriously. And she only fights seriously, when she feels openly offended or attacked. And if this happens, it's better to leave them all alone."

"Well, looks like she successfully took down that Maxime-guy," Nick smirked. "My big sister, you see?"

"She gets scary when she gets mad," Min Li said as she limped over to them after tying up Dora with her own chains. "Anyway, have you seen my team? Ping and Jing should know that I hate being left behind … and Lee shouldn't fight like this after all he has been through … those fools."

"You sound like Riza after we did something wrong," Jean said as he said down with them. "It has to be hard to be the only girl on a four-man-team, huh?"

"You have no idea," she said as she rested her katana by her feet. "And I would really appreciate if they were to stop their constant abandonment of their team leader. On the other hand … well, I kinda left them in the dust before as well so this might mean that we are even now."

"Don't blame yourself," Jean said softly. "Sometimes, you have to move on after an injury … and often this is easier if you have someone to follow. I don't think that they blame you, Min Li."

"My boys never blamed me," she said before she ran her thumb across her katana. "They believed in me when there was no one else who did. Anyway, I would love to stay but I need to help them now."

"Wait a few seconds before you go," Cai said. "I know what you are thinking … and believe me, you will never be Jun Li … and that's just right because you are your own person."

"You are right," she admitted. "I tried too hard to be my mother when I should have been myself."

* * *

"…I really wonder what other possibility you see, Mustang," Jade's opponent hissed. "If we die, I will get the revenge I always wanted. Your brother … he took my dream! He made me unhappy! He forced me to stay in this godforsaken castle because he passed the state alchemist exam when it should have been me! I was matched against Helena, you know? And I couldn't betray her!"

"It was your decision to hold back when you should have fought for your dream," Jade said coldly.

"How can you be so cold … how can you act like your dreams were never destroyed, Jadelina Mustang?" the woman yelled at her. "How can you be like this?"

"People like you don't deserve my sympathy. People who blame others for their failure and who consider suicide a good idea should never get my pity," the black-haired woman said darkly. "Of course, dreams of mine were destroyed as well … but even if one plan goes wrong, there will be a second chance … and blaming others is wrong. I believe that I remember Cornelius now. He was the one I defeated back then … I should have recognised this."

"Oh, so they don't call you a master riddle solver without a reason," the woman said. "Yes, we were sent … it was our chance to leave the castle … to make our own history. But no, Miss Serena had to be part of the big plan to ruin it. She faced him," she mentioned at her unconscious partner, "and defeated him. Our plans to leave the castle … they were destroyed."

"You are foolish if you expect me to believe such a bad excuse," Jade snapped. "If you had really wanted to escape, you would have tried again. You wouldn't have been discouraged like that. You would have kept fighting for your dream … and I won't allow you to stain Lynn's memory by blaming her! Instead of trying to kill me, you could have asked me. I am head of the state alchemists after all – and unlike you guys, I am not one to hold grudges. You could have applied for a position."

"You are all talk and no action, Mustang," the woman spat. "Too kind, too soft … the nightmare of what Lady Rain would have wanted for her state alchemists!"

"Well, unlike her, I am alive and capable of making right decisions," Jade hissed. "And regarding the second option I see right now … we could go on and live. We could move on, we could make new friends. We could learn from our mistakes!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Cornelius had reached the hallway where a trio of mask-wearing Xingese boys was currently finishing their attacks that had left another squad of the hired fighters weeping for mercy.

"The princess would be proud of us," one of them said as he pushed up his mask. "She became such a capable fighter that we just have to follow her example, right?"

"Oi, Ping, to hear a compliment coming from you, well, that's what I call rare," a black-haired girl said as she ran down the stairs. Her black shirt was torn and her cheeks were bruised but she laughed.

"Min Li," the boy said as he hugged her tightly. "I was worried that something might have happened after we left you in that hall … you got some awesome katana skills lately."

"Well, it was more that I was improvising than that I had a clue what the hell I was doing," she said as she winked at him. "You wouldn't happen to possess some hair ties, Ping?" she asked brightly.

"And here I was thinking that you grew out of the twin buns," another boy chuckled.

"Lee!" she said darkly as she glared at him. "They are my trademark, alright?"

"Stop teasing her, boys," Ping said before the third boy got to say anything and held out two hair ties. "Still, I had hoped that you stopped trying to be like your mother, Min Li…"

She chuckled. "Don't worry – this is just something that reminds me where I came from," she stated. "Oh, and it seems like we have a visitor."

"This is that Cornelius-guy who beat up Lady Mustang," Jing supplied helpfully.

"Lady Mustang?" Min Li snorted. "Jade is around as ladylike as I am."

"Which is nothing you should be proud of," Ping scolded. "One day, I will get you to act like a princess, Min, just watch it. Maybe I will team up with some of the women of your family … since they started to love you, they got a little bit overexcited whenever they saw a chance to educate you…"

"Chao's education was wonderful, thank you very much," she snapped before she directed her glare at Cornelius. "So, you seem to be a capable alchemist, huh? Make yourself useful … and did you see Jade?"

"Last time I saw her, she was fighting against Maxime VI and Joan," the black-haired man said calmly.

"How was she doing?" Jing asked worried as his friend stayed silent. "How are her ribs?"

"She manages with it quite well," Cornelius said politely. "She is used to this kind of pain, I assume."

"Yeah … and you are still going to get it for hurting her and endangering Tori," Min Li growled as she bound her hair into the usual buns. "Jade is important to many people and no one is allowed to hurt her. She has a purpose, you understand?"

"For a Xingese princess, you are extremely loud and slightly annoying," Cornelius muttered.

"I wouldn't mess with her anyway," Ping said calmly. "She took out that pink and yellow elephant."

"Dora?" the guardian's eyes widened slightly. "Well, this means that you **are** actually strong."


	30. 194: Tears of Water and Fire

**Tears of Water and Fire**

* * *

Nerissa's tear stained face shattered the remains of Ardelia's heart as the old woman watched how the younger woman struggled to go on with her legs that refused to obey her. From the state of the injuries said legs sported, it was easy to assume that she had lost any feeling in her legs because the injuries should have made her rest earlier. For the old woman, it was another punch straight into her stomach.

"Oh no," she muttered as she shook her head. "You … you are too stubborn, Nerissa."

The blond woman who was nothing but a small, scared child in the old lady's eyes turned to face her. "You were the one to tell me that I should never change, Ardelia," she said harshly. "I thought that you at least were different from all those fools…" She wiped away her tears, defiant and stubborn as she had always been and how she would stay until her death. "And that's why I am thinking even now, milady: that you are oh so perfect and that I will never be able to compete."

"You got far closer to perfection than me, Nerissa. I am just all messed up after all … an old woman who never quit when she should have. You may claim that you lost yourself to another side of you … one you never wanted to face but in fact, the only one who can claim this would be me. I lied to myself for a long time, for nearly a century. I pretended that my decision was right and that the others are wrong. I cannot lie like this any longer," Ardelia said as she felt how a tear ran down her face as well. "Maybe we are too much alike after all … and so this has to end. Amestris cannot take two of our kind, I fear."

"So in the end, I will be unique again?" Nerissa asked. "Because the girl I was formed into is tearing you and your life apart, Lady Ardelia."

"This was bound to happen – seeing that you are a better and younger version of me … and currently everything I am not. It's not like I need somebody to order me around for my own sake, do I? I am more than old enough to know what I am doing … and right now, I think about the way I will leave."

"Ardelia…" Nerissa said as she leaned forward in her wheelchair.

"To tell the truth, I have been keeping myself alive with sheer willpower for the last few years … never allowed myself to die and stuff like that … well, you should know this better than most people- don't worry, Nerissa. I found somebody who will lead the family in my place. Helen died, I fear, but she will have blackmailed your cousin into joining the elders. You will take your place there as well," the old woman said sternly. "Because you are so perfect and amazing that I would sin if I would leave you outside alone … and to be honest, no one can compete with you … especially not the messed up me."

"Wait a moment…" Nerissa said. "You were said to be the most manipulating member of the family…"

"Yes, I planned ahead for this situation," Ardelia admitted. "I hate to be called manipulating to be honest but your foolish mother was right for once. I planned quite a lot on your way because it was easy to assume that Lynn would die young. She was always unlucky to walk into the biggest mess available and I would have been an idiot to believe that she would be luckier as an adult."

"So … you used me?"

"No," the old woman said harshly. "Unlike your mother, I simply don't do using other people. I knew the circumstances and from this point, I planned. You had to grow up far away from this madness because this was our only way to protect you from your mother and her followers. A normal childhood for you was the key factor in the whole plan. How is Lady Catherina, by the way?"

"The more you say the more I am tempted to believe my mother's words regarding you, Ardelia."

"Catherina was an old friend of your uncle Berthold and I often invited her for diner. You were disowned but I still cared enough to keep an eye on you, Nerissa."

"Wrong," the blonde said. "I am disowned, remember? Lynn never got to change it and Vicky is too young to make such a major change … and it's alright with me. That's why I won't be an elder either."

"Well, I believe that you underestimated me there … and that you forgot about my ability to gets the elders into doing exactly what I want them to," the old lady chuckled. "I knew that you would return one day, Nerissa, and I prepared that you would become a part of the elders upon your return."

"I really should have known that you wouldn't forget about such details," Nerissa said as she frowned and crossed her arms to build a wall between her and everyone else.

"Defence is Serena's thing, Nerissa," Ardelia said as she leaned back, slightly exhausted. "You are not the type to build walls around yourself. You are too keen on growing to build a cage."

"Unlike my little sister, I know about something called 'doors', Ardelia," she snapped. "And all the walls _I_ build have some because there are a few things I have to open my walls for love for example."

"Serena will be upset with you for fighting like this, Nerissa," Ardelia warned.

* * *

"…still asleep," Lan Fan answered as Edward and Riza appeared in front of the door that would lead them to the wing of the castle where the sick and injured members of the family stayed until their recovery. Usually, there would be nurses but just as they had noticed before, the normal staff of the castle had been sent onto a prolonged vacation along with minor members of the family and the council of elders while hired fighters and rogue alchemists were there while important members of the family and the council were kept hostage.

"She strained herself, didn't she?" Riza asked as her fist shock in suppressed rage. "Damn … just like Lynn … victorious but still beaten … I hate this. I don't want this!"

"Many are hurt," Lan Fan said softly as she crossed her arms. "The chancellor's cousin dragged herself here with the help of two other alchemists. I never saw ribs in such a state before. It's a miracle that she could even stand on her own … to her that she fought in this state…"

Edward rubbed the back of his neck as he smiled sheepishly. "You see, Lan Fan, Jade is proud, very proud and I might have told her that she should be strong and do her best instead of sulking because of her injuries," he admitted. "Her pride makes it easy for me to … motivate her again."

"This is dangerous," Riza said as she entered the sickbay while her stomach churned at the sight of her injured children, her beaten family. "Look at her, Edward. Whatever she has been doing, she shouldn't look like this. There are more than a few broken ribs that cause her pain right now if you ask me."

"It is Jade," Lan Fan said as she made her way to Min Li who looked peaceful despite her deep frown that indicated the pain she was feeling to brush away a few strands. "All of them grew tonight."

"Like we were supposed to," Laila said, balancing her weight with her crutch as she somehow managed to close the last of Victoria's wounds before she ran one hand through her messy blond hair. "Vicky, my, my … now I understand why Nick was afraid that I might get caught up in the middle of it all."

"She knocked herself out in the end," Elicia said weakly as she sat up in her own bed, tired but smiling.

"Her arm was broken after her fight with the chimeras," Laila said before she punched the wall with the arm that wasn't occupied with her crutch before she sat down next to her sister. "I hate this all, you know? Vicky is the one who could actually do something right now. I am healing minor wounds, mostly cuts. Seriously, lightening alchemy is worthless if you aren't fighting," she said frustrated. "Even Flame Alchemy can be used outside battle for good reasons after all…"

"Don't you dare to get Nick to burn Victoria's wounds shut, Laila," Edward ordered with a grin.

"You are boring, Edward," she pouted as she let go of her crutch before she started to put small braids into her sister's deep red hair which had been cleaned and brushed before and secured the small braids with golden beads that had belonged to Kay once upon a time.

"How are you feeling, Laila?" Riza asked as she sat down on Nick's bed and took his hand into her own. "Are you the only one besides Elicia who is currently awake, little hawk?"

"Yeah," she replied as she finished her work on her sister's hair. "Nick … the thing with Vicky took quite a toll on him and you know how he gets when something happens to her, don't you?"

"That's why we made sure that he keeps sleeping," Lan Fan said before she looked at her niece who looked fragile with all the bandages that covered her arms and her upper body. "This took quite a toll on her as well," she added quietly. "Still, her comrades helped us greatly to win this battle. The four of them took down many of the hired fighters."

"Well, that's their field of specialisation, right?" Edward shrugged as he sat down on a chair. "Talking of bandages … do we have some for me as well? Cornelius got my upper arm and I need to clean and bandage the wound before it goes down the drain…"

"Yeah, we have quite a lot of them," Lan Fan said as she threw one at him. "I believe that the physical injuries won't be this much of a problem to be honest. It's more the question what will happen to their minds once they wake up. For some of them, the injuries are surely … impressive…"

"They will recover if we give them the time and the support," Riza said as she smiled. "And no of them nearly died, right? So they will recover soon."

Minerva Hawkeye, the lone queen of the elders, lay in her bed as she watched terrified how everything around her was just not like she had wanted it to be. Her brother Albus, Helen's husband, had had a nervous breakdown after he had heard what had happened to his wife and after Minerva herself had knocked him out before he could endanger anyone, he hadn't awoken yet. Still, the old lady sat up and crossed her arms as her brown eyes gleamed dangerously. "And what about you, Riza?" she asked.

"Minerva," the blonde said as she nodded at the old lady. "I am fine … and you?"

"If you are asking about how I deal with my sister-in-law's death … well, I knew that it was coming and so the only thing that shocks and surprises me right now is the way she left," Minerva said. "She … she was very sick, you know? The doctors gave her half a year … this was one year ago … so we knew that her time was running out … you know me, I am trying to get logic into this … but my heart hurts too."

Minerva was one of the most brilliant heads of the family, only surpassed by her brothers, Berthold and maybe even Victoria but Riza had always been shocked when the older woman had talked about death like it was the most normal thing in this world – which it probably was but sometimes, it wasn't right to see everything logically … sometimes you needed a heart to see the truth.

"She … she was already dying?" Riza asked as she turned to look at her grandaunt.

"Yes," Minerva sighed. "She has been dying … cancer, you know? They couldn't take it out and … well, she has been suffering long enough. Maybe this end is better than the slow and painful one that was waiting for her … and it was fitting for a fighter like her to die in battle."

"Albus won't agree with you there, Minerva," the younger woman stated softly."

"I know," she said tiredly as she leaned back. "But seriously, this is your story now … yours and the other blondes … Nerissa and Serena will return as well, won't they?"

"Predicting them is an impossible feat," Riza said, "but I guess so as well."

* * *

"…I am supposed to come with you?" Phil asked as he looked at Serena who had appeared in front of his house at nine in the morning. "Seriously, Serena, what's going on right now?"

"Best friends, remember?" she smiled as she held out her hand. "And you are the only one who actually knows what I like to wear. We are going shopping for a wedding dress … but first, we are visiting my sisters. I haven't been there for too long, I guess … and I still love them … even though they lied."

"I haven't been visiting them … since Promised Day and back then, I was there for you instead of anyone else," he admitted as he closed the buttons of his coat. "Owen called this morning. They are all fine. Nessa is still bitching about her legs but she's alright."

"You have been visiting my grave?" she asked as they walked through town. "Seriously, Phil, you and Jade have both the complete fear of graveyards. Still, I love you for being there because … you always cared. I never got to work with you but … you were the one who I always considered as my comrade … even if there were hundred miles between us."

"Serena, I will hug you now and I hope that I don't crush you," he said as he wrapped his arms around her. "And honestly, you were my comrade as well. I mean … you were the only one along with Jade who always remembered my favourite food and stuff like that."

"That's because we are too much alike," she said as she clung to his arm. "You cared … and I did as well. Maybe that's the reason why we never killed ourselves…"

"You are one funny little girl," he smiled as they kept walking. "But … I upset you many times…"

"Yes," she admitted. "But I don't care about this now, Phil. I saw that you were suffering as well … you were the kind of guy who laughed all the time when he was awake to cry when he fell asleep. The whole issue with Jade … well, it made it hard for you to breathe – and you're an **air** alchemist."

"Back then, her last real laugh was the best sound I could imagine … it was sincere … and she hasn't laughed like that again until the war against Monte Bandeo … and so we are all happier now."

"You are right … but you were sad when I left you in West City and went to Briggs…" she said as she smiled up at him. "It was my fault that we two broke apart like idiots."

"I am not mad at you," he said as he kissed her temple. "And if you had asked me, I would have went with you … and maybe, we would have battled Envy together … and maybe…"

"…maybe we would have won…" she nodded. "But we never lost faith in ourselves … we got up and kept fighting … day for day, we fought…"

"But instead, we were questioning every moment we made decisions that made it more complicated for us to be the friends we were meant to be … but we have no answer to what would have happened if you would have come with me, right? So we just know that we both lost our fights against Envy and that we both lost people we cared for," he said as they reached the graveyard. "I think we both need to learn something even Jade had a hard time to learn: we learn to let go."

"At least we know that she could do it," Serena smiled as they reached the graves they were visiting. "Do you think that it's weird to talk with her, Phil?" she asked.

"No," he replied.

"Alright," she said as she knelt down. "Hey, Lynn, this is our last conversation … and probably the last time that I will speak to you like this … because I got Phil to come with me. He was there when I was broken again … always telling me to keep my hope and to let go of old memories…"

"Good to hear that you think this much of me," Phil smirked.

"Anyway, I am getting married … so yeah, Nessa will be the last of us to settle down," Serena grinned at the gravestone. "And I am, um, pregnant. Phil already called dibs on being the godfather … so don't worry about the child, Lynn-Lynn. He won't allow me to put my child into ugly clothes because this would hurt his eyes. You know that he is one of the few guys who have a clue about fashion."

"I resent that," he muttered. "But hey, Lynn, I will keep an eye on your little sister. I keep her out of trouble – even if this means that I've to work extra shifts."

"You are such a meanie sometimes," the blonde pouted before she grinned up at him. "Anyway, we have a wedding gown to buy and just like I just said: you are the fashion expert."

"Thanks, Rena," he groaned. "Anyway, I am happy that I got Jade off my back. She has been annoying me to organise the Amestrian High Society Ball for two weeks now and seriously, she even said that she might get mother to threaten me into doing it…"

"She wouldn't do it … would she?"

"If I don't do it, yeah, she will do it. It's Jade and she does whatever she wants."

* * *

Three days later, Riza walked through the gardens of the castle that was under reconstruction after the battle to reach the graveyard of her family. Her hair was braided and fell onto her back while she wore a black dress to honour those who had died. The traces on the grass indicated that Laila had been there because the crutch left small holes all over the perfect grass. As she looked ahead, she saw Victoria's bright red hair along with Laila's golden halo and Nick's black hair while Elicia skipped ahead of them.

It was strange to see them all like this. Jade had been out for two days while Min Li was still out. The bright wide bandages so many of them sported shone between their black clothes.

"Riza," Minerva said as their paths crossed. "You are up early … nearly as your father when he was younger. But I saw the Mustang-heiress walking through the castle even earlier today."

"Minerva, her name is Jade," Riza sighed as she stopped for a moment. "Seriously, you shouldn't call her the Mustang-heiress all the time. She hates this and the last one who called her that met the mean side of her … and believe me, this wasn't pretty."

"You know that I have trouble with names, Riza," the old woman smiled. "Another thing … Helen passed her place in the elder's council down to you, right? She always liked you the best."

"What are you playing at, Minerva?" the first lady asked.

"I was left alone," she said. "With Helen and Albus dead, I have no supporters left. Well, there would be the fool who is your grandfather but I cannot control him the way I used to … not that I could control you but I need someone a little more support especially since Helen was my best friend."

"I remember funny family reunions when you got drunk with her … and started to annoy the hell out of your brothers…" Riza smirked as she looked at her grandaunt. "That was always amusing."

"Yeah … and according to Lynn, all of you kids wished to be old enough to drink as well," Minerva said drily. "Anyway, you were on your way to … their graves, weren't you?"

"You know where I am going so yes," Riza said. "And I think about supporting you, Minerva."

* * *

_December 1841 until November 1924  
Here lies Helen Trisha Hawkeye née Elric  
beloved wife, sister-in-law and grandaunt  
who had a heart of gold and a soul like a diamond  
We loved and adored her a lot  
but God loved her more  
She fought for good and justice  
she raised our flag in battle  
and showed no fear just pride  
at the Falkenburg Castle  
where hope and Courage never died  
The wings of will carry her away  
from this place where she fought  
her last battle that she won_

* * *

The simple white gravestone seemed to lighten up the family graveyard and as Riza knelt down, she smiled as she laid down the red lilies. "I came to visit you, Helen," she said calmly as she traced the marble with her cold fingertips. "Others will be there as well because well, you were adored." She was silent for a moment while she wondered what she wanted to say to the woman who had given her life for hers. "And … we bring them home," she added. "Kay and the others, even my aunt … because they should rest here with you instead with strangers. Maybe you and Lynn can finally make your peace."

She looked over her shoulder where she faced another grave and sighed deeply. "We didn't want you to die … and Vicky blames herself for this," she added. "She said that we shouldn't have come but I think that it was meant to happen in a way … and knowing you, you rather died for something that actually had a meaning to you than to live forever. Well, now, you will live forever because we will never forget you. You became immortal by saving all of us."

She bowed before she turned towards the other grave that was even fresher. Her husband hadn't taken the death of his beloved wife kindly and while no illness or bullet had ever harmed him, grief had killed him in mere days. It had been a tragedy – especially since Ardelia had finally found her eternal peace as well, shortly after Albus had passed on.

* * *

_December 1840 until November 1924  
Here lies Albus Hawkeye  
loving husband, brother and granduncle  
who smiled brighter than the sun and the stars combined  
He always had seven bullet where he needed just six  
and his strong physic helped him against many illnesses  
Yet no matter how strong he was, grief did what others couldn't  
and took him away when he needed him the most  
where the hearts is silent, tears speak_

* * *

The white lilies in front of the three new graves smelled sweetly but Riza felt nothing but bitterness because the victory had been paid with the sacrifices of other people. Victoria's broken arm and Laila's fractured leg would heal while the dead would never recover again. It had been a painful experience for all of them. Jade's broken ribs were part of the sacrifice but she had said that it had been for Lynn, Kay, Martin and Charles instead for a living being and that she had chosen these injuries over being a coward. Being a generally forgiving person, she had accepted Joan's and Cornelius' apologies.

For Riza, it had been an important experience that she was able to win against members of her slightly crazy family – especially after nearly losing Serena when they had fought them the last time. The last fight had been traumatising for all of them and Riza was happy that none of her children had had to lose like they had back then. Sure, all of them had been defeated but they had stood up again and so they hadn't been really defeated. Riza was proud of all of them but especially of Laila because she had broken her leg before she had gotten up again – which was more than enough to compare her to Nerissa who had been the only one so far who had been crazy enough to get up while her leg had been broken and Nerissa was hardly a person to be considered as normal.

Still, a short moment of bitterness and wistfulness passed on as Riza stopped to look at the equally fresh grave next to Helen's before she managed to force a smile at the smaller and even whiter gravestone with the shorter epitaph. Ardelia hadn't wanted a long and dramatic recount of her life and her merits but simply her name, the dates of her life and a short sentence. It was better like that, Riza thought, because this was more like Ardelia than anything else and Nerissa had chosen well – like usual and sometimes, her pragmatic mind threw out surprisingly good ideas.

* * *

_Ardelia Hawkeye  
2__nd__ of October 1823 to 24__th__ of November 1924  
Finally at rest  
a fighter for justice  
and a firm believer in the good in the people_

* * *

Maybe it had been Victoria who had needed the longest time to realise that these three people had been the ones who had had enough trust in her abilities that they could died without worrying. From the former elders, only Minerva was still alive, Albus' younger sister, who had shed only a few tears during the funeral because she had seen that her brother and his wife had lived she had been understanding towards the whole situation, the kind old lady and she had been friendly with Victoria whom she didn't blame for her brother's death.

"Al was a fighter to the boot," she had said. "If it hadn't killed him that Helen died, nothing would have done this. And at least he died with the knowledge that the family is in good hands now. And so the lively force of his mind finally broke down all the barriers that had kept him with us this long and he passed far beyond the things we can realise with our puny human minds that are the curse of our existence. Forever now, in mind and spirit, he roams over the boundless fields of universe."

Riza snorted as she remembered Minerva's words because no matter how kind they were, they had held her old belief that humans weren't made to understand the Truth. She had once been married to an alchemist who had broken the taboo and before he had passed away, he had told her that there 'is the complete and perfected Truth behind the Gate, Minnie' yet she had never tried to obtain this knowledge because she believed that there were things she was better off without.

"…so, Helen was a born Elric?" Edward asked as he stopped next to Riza. "I should have seen the similarities that I can recall now."

"Yes, she came from Resembool, like your mother," Riza said as she pushed back a strand of her hair.

"If you want to, Trisha and Van could be buried here," Berthold said as he laid down flowers. "Your father was a friend of mine after all and your mother was Helen's beloved niece."

"You knew my father, Mister Hawkeye?" Edward asked with a frown.

"Van and I worked together on our researches because we belonged to the League of Alchemists … we were friends with Abigail, Abel and Alain. Old lady Ming hated us," Berthold stated. "Anyway, Minerva is the one who calls the shots around her … queen of the council and things like that…"

"I thought Victoria is head of the family now…" the younger alchemist muttered.

"Technically, she isn't until she is eighteen," the flame alchemist said darkly. "And this made it so important that we won this fight. I never trusted Maxime any further than I could throw him."

"You don't seem to be a trusting kind of person in general. In fact, that reminds me of Jade."

"I trust people who deserve it … like Nessa. And regarding Jade … it is funny how things changed. Back then, Abby was always complaining that your father was babying her and now, you are complaining about Jade doing the same to you … Van would appreciate the irony in this, I guess…" Berthold smiled as he shook his head. "The stupid guy left me with so many tasks … it was always _Bert, you're a nice guy so please, take care of this_ or _Bert, my friend, what about this calculation?_ And he still didn't do the only thing I needed him to: he failed to protect Kay and Lynn … he failed to protect my girls…"

"Dad, this wasn't his fault," Riza said as she patted his shoulder. "Edward's father was gone at the time as well … and so, you really don't have to blame it on him. You know what Jade says: there's no sense in blaming the dead. It makes nothing easier and seriously, they wouldn't want this."

"I know … well, if I've to blame it on someone, I will blame it on my sister," he said in agreement before he glared at a grave that was aside from the others. "I really wonder why she's lying here anyway."

"For all her mistakes and wrongdoings, she was a member of this family," his daughter reminded him.

"You sound like Minerva … that's seriously scary right now, Riza," he muttered as he stared into the distance. "Still, Rain did nothing for anyone but herself. She was selfish and she deserves my hatred for what she did to so many great people. She liked to cause other people pain."


	31. 195: Imperfect Perfection

**Imperfect Perfection**

* * *

"…I wonder if they are alright," Olivier said softly as they all sat in a circle to plan the wedding. "It's not like them to stay away any longer than necessary, right? And usually, Jade hurries home after such a fight … but everything she did so far was to call Claudio to tell him that she's alright."

Serena nodded in agreement as she stared at her red fingernails. "We should consider sending a group to check on them now that the battle is over," she said. "From what I heard, it has to be a complicate situation with Lady Ardelia dead … and that Uncle Albus and Aunt Helen died as well doesn't make it any easier for Riza, Uncle B and the others…"

"We shouldn't worry that much," Charlotte said. "In the end, we cannot change anything anyway. We should concentrate on the thing we have influence on right now … and this means: the wedding. In the end, they are all experience combatants and by worrying, we would be insulting them, right?"

"I have faith in them," Phil said from his place on the windowsill as he looked up from the manuscript he was currently checking for mistakes. "Jade … she knows the game better than most of us and to say that we should send someone to look after her, would be seriously insulting for her. Or did any of you forget that she is one of the most skilled fighters we have right now?"

"You can't blame us for being worried," Winry said as she looked up from the automail she was currently working at. "Fact is: they headed into a battle they haven't trained for. This means that they have no idea who will be waiting for them in this damned castle."

"Well, they still have a few high-skilled Xingese bodyguards hanging around there as well," Jun Li said tiredly as she kept looking at the swords she was currently cleaning. "Min Li and Jing were trained for exactly this kind of situation and knowing their sensei, they have the skill and the power to back it up. I think that we are worrying a little too much and therefore, I bid you goodnight."

"She's right there," Sheska said softly as she looked up from the invitations she had been writing. "To wait will make us more and more impatient. And if we get impatient, we will snap at each other."

"And that would be the end of our friendship," Roy agreed as he entered the living room again. "Phil, Bea – I guess that you have to go home now, right? You said something about an important meeting."

"Oh yes," his cousin smirked. "We are having dinner with the Elrics, well, without Edward for obvious reasons but Winry invited us weeks ago…"

"I understand," Jun Li said as she closed the buttons of her coat. "I suggest that we share a taxi because I live in the same street as them after all…"

"That sounds like a plan," Bea smiled as she wrapped her scarf around her neck. "You are worried about your sister and your daughter, aren't you?"

"I am also worried about her teammates," Jun Li sighed. "She had teammates from the other important clans of our village … and I wonder how they can deal with this. Min Li has the drive … but I don't know if the same goes for her teammates. Usually, I would think so but … they are all so terribly young…"

"You were even younger," Roy stated with a faint smile. "You should have faith in them, Li."

"That I trust them is the only reason why I haven't went to check on them yet," she said darkly as she brushed away a strand of her hair. "Fact is: if something happens to Min … I seriously don't know how I would deal with it … because I never could be a good mother for her and if I would lose her before I get the chance, I would seriously face a messed up life."

"Jun Li…" Olivier said as she got up from her chair. "Be reasonable, alright? Min Li is a good girl and she is your daughter which would make her one of the most stubborn woman who ever walked on this planet. People like you and her, like Laila, Riza and Victoria, yes, even like me … we don't quit easily. We fight to the point where it hurts and we want to give in but we never do because we are too proud to be defeated easily. So we rise again to keep fighting." She smiled. "You need to trust her, you see? You need to give her the space she needs to grow … and if you do this, she will grow into something so beautiful and admirable … that everything will be alright again."

* * *

"…when you left, I thought about leaving as well, princess," Ping said as he visited Min Li in the sickbay where she was still recovering from the exhausting fights. "I hated it, you know? We used to be together, happy and cheerful, because there was no one who could have stopped us … but when you left, everything fell apart. Meimei … even she was suffering from it. Jing had left us before as you know but no one took this so serious…"

"So I did nothing but causing you and everyone else pain…" she whispered. "I apologise, Ping. I never wanted to hurt anyone like this … I am sorry, old friend."

"It was terrible," he whispered. "I was waiting every day for one of you to come home. I sat in the garden of our estate and waited. It was late in the evening when I went back inside … because it took me so long to realise that nobody would come back…" He shook his head. "I used to think that I had many friends, not only you and the rest of our team … but no one ever came to check on me…"

She sat up and hugged him tightly. "I would have taken you with me if I had known," she promised.

"I know, princess," he smiled into her hair. "I visited Meimei-sensei in her estate sometimes because she is the only one who understood how I was feeling back then when everything was a mess. I mean … the most painful thing was that I suddenly had to spend so much time on my own. You probably think that I am a softie for feeling like this because what's a night spent all alone for you who spent most of her life on her own?" he shook his head. "But suddenly, I felt so small, Min Li."

"I understand," she whispered. "I understand better than you think I do. Life was a nightmare for every one of us, I guess. I had my childhood to traumatise me. The massacre of Jing's family left traces on him as well. For Lee, it was the torture under the Fei-clan … and for you, it was being all alone after we left and everyone around you had more fun around you…"

"Yes," he agreed. "And so I went to bed at midnight and waited to fall asleep in the room where we used to have so much fun before fate ripped us apart … and I envied you. Everyone but me had a goal and a purpose. You were out to prove your family that you are strong and Jing had a goal as well because he had a family to avenge. Even Lee had a purpose … he had secrets to protect or he had died honourably. Tell me, Min, what the hell is wrong with me? Why did I never fit in?"

"I don't know," she said softly.

"How could this happen to me? I was a good son … a good friend…"

"Maybe it was your test," she said. "You had to take it."

"But to me, every night like this was the worst night ever … worse than losing Lee…"

"We were just kids," she said as she wrapped her bandaged arms around his neck. "We were just kids and … well, life was a nightmare and never fair on any of us. Nobody cared for what we were going through … and we were all alone and no one wants to be alone in this world, right?"

"I never thought that I would say this, Min, but you are perfect," he said as he held her close. "You always find the words we need to hear … I guess that this comes from spending most of your time on your own, huh?"

She nodded slowly. "It made me stronger, I guess," she said as she closed her eyes for a moment. "I will return one day," she promised softly. "Right now, I still need to grow a little too much … and I am not sure if I can grow like that … at home. But I will be there for your wedding."

He froze. "How did you figure out that I am going to marry?" he asked.

She snorted. "You are carrying the sword that used to belong to your grandfather," she shrugged. "You once mentioned that you wouldn't get to wear it before you take a first step in the direction of becoming a true leader … and to be a leader, one has to show commitment. It was easy to figure this out."

"You truly inherited the all-seeing eyes of your great-grandmother," he stated as he threw something at her – a mask wrapped into clothes. "Took me a while to give this back to you but there you go."

Her hands shook as she unwrapped the mask and her little finger tenderly moved over the thorny black roses that covered the left side of the mask before she looked up. "This was what I missed the most," she whispered. "I missed the chance to hide all my feelings and everything I am behind a mask."

He nodded. "This was your pride as a bodyguard after all," he said softly before he straightened up.

She nodded calmly before her eyes suddenly glinted. "Anyway, tell me who you are going to marry."

He sighed deeply. "Promise me that you won't laugh, alright?" he asked as he looked down. "I am going to marry Meimei Cho, okay? And now, please don't tease me."

"You will marry Meimei-sensei?" Min Li asked amused. "How did you get her to say yes?"

"I got a nice ring – family heirloom, of course – from my mom, invited her for a walk and proposed on our old training field. She said yes and so we will get married once this mess is over."

"I am happy for the two of you, I guess," Min Li said softly as she sighed. "It's just … Meimei-sensei seemed to be too interested in her own career to get married. Even after she ruined her leg, she continued to fight…"

"Meimei recovered completely from her accident," Ping said he sighed deeply. "If you were to return which you probably aren't, we could be the old team again. We missed you because you organised our team like a master when we were still together…"

"I am not sure if I still belong to our village," she said as she brushed away a strand of her hair. "I don't know anything at the moment."

* * *

Berthold watched the sunrise in the distance as he sat in the grass in the early morning. Hardly anyone was awake so far. He had seen Jade Mustang on her way to the kitchen at four in the morning but she had been the only one he had seen so far. He knew that most had already left and that Edward Elric and the Mustang-heiress were currently the only state alchemists who were here. The Xingese warriors had stayed as well – probably because none of them was keen on being yelled at by Min Li's mother who had to be an extraordinarily strict woman who wasn't afraid to say what she thought.

Still, Berthold stared at his sister's grave as thousand reasons why he hated her so much danced through his head. She had been too sure that she had destroyed him when she had ruined everything for him but now he was alive while she was six feet under. It was amusing – at least to him. Finally, he had returned and this meant that he could do whatever he wanted while she was unable to stop him. To him, the irony of the current situation was too obvious to ignore it: year after year, she had paralysed him. Year after year, he had been nothing but a housekeeper and a babysitter for her daughters. But those had been unimportant years and now, when it really counted, he could act while she was dead – and it was really hard not to laugh at this irony. She had believed to her last breath that she had beaten him … that she had gotten the best of him … that she had had the last laugh. He knew for a fact that she had been sure that she had broken him in the end … that she had made sure that he would never get up again and that he would feel helpless enough to return to her side like a good little dog.

Rain Hawkeye, infamous for her brilliancy, had been dead wrong because he had accepted the challenge she had thrown at him and he had grown. He had become even taller and he had become a fighter. Nerissa had mentioned that he seemed to be 'more there' than before Rain had left him in the dust and that she liked this new version. Both of them shared one thing: they hadn't been done for when Rain had left them down like the former state alchemist had.

In the end, it had been good for both of them that she had abandoned them like this because Nerissa had learned what true love was because Catherina had cared. The red-haired duchess from Creta had cared more than Rain had ever. And Berthold had steeled his body after Rain had left them all behind to chase after her pointless dreams – and for him, it had been a smart thing to do because currently, he was one of the most skilled alchemists in battle – even more skilled than Abigail who could wipe the floor with most people he knew.

Still, what pained him the most on this November morning was what had happened to Nerissa who was putting up a strong façade and who hardly cried in frustration about her disobeying legs while her desperation was around her all the time. For a woman who had won a race in autumn, it was surely hard to be paralysed in winter. Everyone was working on ways to make her regain the control over her legs but without a professional doctor, even Victoria was more guessing than knowing.

But they weren't alone with their problems and this was quite important to know for them. They breathed easier because there was no fear left in them. Minerva had gotten the remains of the elders back under her command mere hours after she had been allowed to get up and Berthold trusted his aunt more than he trusted most people. She had a strange idea of loyalty and how to gain it but sometimes, he understood her tough attitude.

"Good morning," Nerissa said tiredly as she wheeled over to him. "Serena called earlier … something about needing me in Central for the wedding. So I will take the first train this morning. I already talked with Edward and he will go with me. Jade is still under supervision so she won't come with us yet."

"How did she break her ribs like that anyway?" her uncle asked with a sigh. "I will get an earful from her mother about this, that's for sure. Still, I wonder how the hand-to-hand combat queen of the West could be beaten up like that. She looked like she didn't defend herself – at all…"

"It's exactly that," the blonde snorted. "She let herself being beaten … something strange about owing Lynn that much. Seriously, she should talk with Mrs Robinson about that sometimes. I mean … the lady managed to fix me up again … and I was a far more complicate case than the little princess…"

"You are a fool to believe that her problem is like yours," he said gruffly. "Seriously, Nessa, the thing that happened to her is from a completely different kind than your little problem."

"Would you mind to enlighten me then, Uncle?" she asked sweetly.

"You aren't dumb, Nessa. It was obviously for Lynn's sake that the Mustang-girl took the beating without a moment of hesitation. Like you said, Jade still thinks that she owes Lynn a few favours and I believe that this was her way of giving something back to her best friend. Jade has a good memory after all and I think that Lynn mentioned Cornelius a few times. They used to be friends after all … and it wouldn't be unlike Lynn to mention friends of her … and when Jade knew…"

* * *

Victoria and her siblings sat in their room and meditated while their breath was perfectly in sync. They were so different. Laila was the fair-haired princess-turned-warrior. Nick was the black-haired knight to Victoria, the red-haired queen with the disturbing tendency to turn into a dragon when someone threatened her family and her friends.

Laila had once said that there was no scarier sight than Victoria when someone had messed with Nick and while Roy remembered Riza, Kay and Lynn just too vividly to agree with her completely, he had to admit that Victoria was definitely one of the scarier women he knew. Maybe it was because of her godmothers – Olivier and Jade respectively – but when Victoria got really mad, she left nothing but debris. (The innocent wall at the main hall of the castle in Falkenburg was a proof of this.)

"How is your arm, Vicky?" Nick asked as he kept his eyes closed.

"It will heal in time," his sister replied softly. "And even if it wouldn't heal, I would accept it as the price I have to pay for my sin. I shouldn't have overreacted like this. I should have stayed calm … but no, I had to go and smash in everything in sight."

Laila sighed deeply. "You are foolish if you really think like this," she said. "You broke your arm even before – and that you broke your arm is the reason why you had to lose it like this. If you had been uninjured, you would have won anyway."

Nick nodded slowly. "The thing is that you are putting your complete arm at risk if you continue to refuse that Min Li heals it," he said. "Or do you really want to join Lan Fan in the league of Automail users?"

She snorted. "Of course not," she declared. "I know what I am doing. I won't lose my arm because of this. It's merely broken and I allow it to heal at its own pace. There's no harm in this. Still, my sin stays the same."

"It has to be a very sad world when even young girls like you know the meaning of the word sin," Berthold said from the doorway where he stood. "Victoria, I know that you might not want to hear this but in this situation, you had to use your full strength. And yes, you ended up blowing up half the hall but you meant no harm with this."

"I sometimes really wonder how you manage to show up whenever we doubt ourselves," Laila said as she tilted her head. "You aren't spying on us, are you?"

"Of course not," he sighed as he sat down on the empty bed. "You remind me of myself back in the days. The same ambition that drives you to touch your own limits … but please, never push yourself too far because an alchemist who breaks his own mind kills himself – as long as she isn't Nerissa … she's the only one who surpassed the limits and managed to keep her drive … her will of keep going…"

"Well, Nerissa is probably the only person in the whole wide world who would rather cross hell than to betray those she believes in," Laila shrugged. "So maybe she shouldn't count – at all. She is the strongest person I've ever met."

"I don't think so," Berthold replied. "She is fantastic at putting up a brave face and acting like she doesn't care – at all … but in truth, she's very lonely and gets hurt very easily. She strengthened her body but she forgot about her own mortality."

"This happens to the best of us," the blond girl shrugged as she patted Victoria's uninjured shoulder. "How is Min-Min, by the way?"

"She takes a walk with Ping and Lee, catching up and things like that," Berthold replied as he looked out the window where darkness fell slowly. "I am sure that they will be fine."

"Physically, yes, I do not doubt this … but I wonder how they deal with this emotionally," Victoria said worried before she got up. "Anyway, I am going for a walk as well."

* * *

The woman dressed in back with the silver scarf skipped over the dark graveyard as her hands were wrapped around an enormous bunch of roses. Her ink black hair fell over her shoulders and her feet were firm on the ground as her feet trembled. Finally, she reached a grave and sat down on the ground. "Hey, Lynn," she said softly. "It has been a while, huh? I brought you roses so that no one will figure out that it's me … that it's still me. Are you looking at me from above? I am at my worst, you see? Kneeling in the grass and talking to a grave … pathetic. I used to be stronger than that, you know that, don't you? Hell, what happened to be that I became this scared of everything? Anyway, I just came to talk to someone who will always understand me." She paused for a moment. "It has been over for so long, hasn't it? You died twelve years ago … when it should have been me. Did you hate me in the moment you were killed? I would understand if you had hated me. Remember what we used to say when we were young and foolish, only cadets? We always thought that we'd die side by side … and then you really died – without me. We wanted to hold each other's hand when we go on our last adventure and yet, you departed without me."

The graveyard lay silent and calm at night and yet it felt like someone was watching her.

"We used to be Silver and Jade … we owned the world for a moment … and yet, I'd give it all up just to see you once again. To see you looking at me … tell me, are you proud that I didn't give up? That I never surrendered and allowed myself to be killed in a battle … the only thing that kept me from giving up all that time was that old, dusty promise we made a long time ago. I know that I need to live with my decision…" she paused. "With the decision I made and that killed you. I sometimes wonder if I am worth to mourn your death when I was the one you sent you off to your death."

Ghostly pale fingers danced across the marble gravestone. "It would have been your birthday today, Lynn. I believed that I would finally get the closure I need so much if I would be here today," the woman went on. "And if I could go back in time, I would be there to help you. Together, we would have won – even against Envy. We never failed a mission after all. And yet, all I can do now is to put down flowers on your grave – it's not even an apology."

The graveyard continued to lie silent under the silver moonlight.

"And here I am … kneeling in front of your gravestone, still hoping for a chance to hug you at least one time – if it's wrong to want something this badly, I gladly accept this sin of mine. But I also have to accept that you won't return and that I have to live in this world – even though it lacks you. I need to keep moving … and I will keep the promise I made so many years ago. I will push Victoria to whatever place she wants to reach … so that she can have the life we wanted for us."

The soft noise behind her let her jump up and land in a fighting stance in mere seconds before she relaxed. "So, and I was wondering why I felt like someone was watching me," she sighed. "You don't belong here, Jing."

"What makes you think I cannot understand?" he asked calmly.

"I killed her. Not with my own hands, as much is true, but I send her into her death when I knew that she would end up killed. There is no excuse for what I did. I killed my best friend … I killed the person I knew better than anyone else. I killed the person I cared for so deeply that her death nearly caused me to end my own life … with the knife she gave me. Two cuts would have been all it takes. I killed enough to know this," she said. "But no, my brother had to come and keep me from joining the best person I've ever known."

He silently held out his hand. "I do understand, believe me," he whispered as he took her hand and dragged her back to the castle. "I can understand."

And as he looked back as she sobbed and became ugly because no one was pretty when she cried, he believed that for a moment, he saw a silver-haired woman grabbing the hand of her black-haired friend and dragging her down a hallway before they disappeared in a bright light. Yes, in the end, Lynn and Jade were a never-ending circle and they would never end as long as one of them was still alive. In another life, he knew, they would see each other again and in this other life, they would never have to say goodbye.

Because in the end despite the simple fact that life was so easy to end, it was eternal and Jing understood this better than anyone else because he had been there as well – when Lee had been abducted and Min Li had simply broken apart next to him and neither Ping nor anyone else had been able to fix her again.

* * *

"You never wanted to use it for real," Riza said as she sat down on a comfortable red loveseat. "So … why did you use it, dad?"

Her father lowered his head. "Back then, the people would have been innocents … but those people … I don't even know. They wanted to hurt the people I love more than anything else … and how could I refuse to fight with everything I have when Nerissa fought with such power and determination despite her injury or when outsiders like Fullmetal and Breeze Soul defended our rights with such fervour? To refuse my power in this situation would have been unfair towards everyone – but especially towards Kay and Lynn who risked so much to save me … and who would have hated me if I had gone without a fight?"

"I understand," she sighed.

"The boy, Nick, he surprised me," he went on. "My compliments to Roy that he trained him this well. It's rare for such a young alchemist to show this amount of self-control."

"Roy didn't train him," Riza replied. "When he and Vicky got into this dangerous situation at their exam for the League, he suddenly used Flame Alchemy. Vicky, his twin, was the only one who wasn't completely shocked because of this."

"Victoria has access to the library after all … well, it actually makes sense…" he muttered. "My second guess would have been Peter but he never trained anyone who isn't up to his ridiculously high standards."

"No, Nick only had Victoria's help to figure everything out."

"Impressive … what kind of food did you give them to make them a merry five-man-band of geniuses?"

"Probably the same stuff you gave us so many years ago," she smiled friendly.

"I really love the way all those years haven't robbed you off your wit," he said amused.

"You have to keep optimism and wit when you live in a household with six geniuses, a dog and a turtle."

* * *

"…and here I was wondering what kind of person is sneaking around my castle," the red-haired girl said as she smirked at her own shadow while she moved into a fighting stance. "I have to admit that I didn't expect someone like you to stoop this low."

The men behind her chuckled darkly as their leader stepped forward.

"We know that you are the weakest among them, weaker than even your expert for explosives," he said. "Yes, Master Maxime informed us well before he sent us to get you, little girl. We know that you won't be able to fight all of us at the same time."

She smirked as she turned around. "I may be the weakest … but I am the weakest out of a bunch of extremely strong people … and I am pretty sure that even the weakest of us is stronger than the strongest of you," she replied calmly. "And you made a crucial mistake: you pushed me towards the edge – and since I refuse to jump, I guess that I will have to take all of you at the same time. But don't worry, guys, because I won't get hurt. If you corner me and push me far enough, I won't be the weak little girl you believe me to be any longer. You just unlocked the fighter inside of me. I hope you are aware who is was named after and what my nickname means."

"Um, mind to remember us who you were named after so that we know who we are killing?" the leader asked amused.

"Gladly," she replied as she exhaled and watched the little cloud her warm breath caused in the cold air. "Victoria was the middle name of my aunt Kay while I am in fact named after General Armstrong who happens to be one of my godmothers."

Out of all the people she knew, she was the only one who had two godmothers and no godfather. This was probably because her mother had been a radical feminist in her youth and because the only one who might have lived up to Lynn's high standards would have been Roy and Maes and by the time Victoria had been born, Lynn hadn't been on speaking terms with Roy and Maes had been chosen as Nick's godfather.

"Roughly translated from my mother's language to regular logic, I am the hope for victory," the redhead said before she flashed them a bright smile. "So, who wants to check whether my luck or yours runs out first?"

"You are terribly keen on gambling, aren't you?" the leader asked. "But … are you also willed to gamble with your brother's live on the stake?"

This was probably the most stupid thing for him to say because her eyes flashed dangerously at the mention of her brother and as one of the man seemed to make a move towards the castle, she was in towering in front of him mere seconds later, growling in a way which could rival Black Hayate with ease. "I believe that I am your opponent," she spat before she transmuted a blade made of ice out of the snow as she was thankful for the Briggs-tested gloves with her transmutation array on the back Olivier had gotten her for her birthday because without them, it would have been pretty difficult to wield a sword made of ice.

"Did we just manage to get you to make your first move?" the man asked.

"No," she replied darkly. "You merely managed to get me mad – and this was a mistake because now, I will grow … I will grow into the most terrible opponent you ever had the misfortune to face. Well, are you already excited?"

This was the moment it finally dawned to the men: this was not some snotty rich heiress who would allow herself to be defeated easily. This was – in fact – their worst nightmare. Her red hair was the telltale sign of her legacy from the Hamilton-family … which was a known fact anyway since she was Helena's daughter and Helena was the daughter of Peter Hamilton. Her purple eyes were the rarest sign of a direct blood-relation to Ardelia Hawkeye – the woman who had overthrown her own brother with ease and together, the red hair and the purple eyes betrayed that this seemingly fragile little thing belonged to the side of the family who had fought for centuries – and she was the _heiress_ to this tradition.

"Did you see what I did to the Main Hall of the castle?" she asked innocently as she looked at the huge hole in the wall of aforementioned hall. "That happened the last time someone was dumb enough to threaten my little brother."


	32. 196: The day of the Sparrow

**The day of the Sparrow**

* * *

In the cell, Maxime Hawkeye paced up and down before he turned back at Dora who had been allowed to visit him. "We failed," he said grimly. "We failed to murder the heiress. We failed to murder the Queen. We even failed to murder the traitorous Black Lady – and we failed to finish of the Faked Gold."

"Faked Gold was already defeated," the woman replied slowly. "Still, we didn't manage to kill her when the time was perfect … but there might be a second chance. Serena already refused the position as heiress, so she wouldn't matter if it would be restarted. So we should focus on the most interesting persons in this game … like the Heiress or the Queen."

"The Heiress just took out the last squad we had on the field," he sighed as he stared at the cold walls of his cell. "The Black Lady isn't as much of concern to us because she is merely an additional person. All alone, she has no effect on our game."

"In combination with Faked Gold, she could be the end of our game," she said in slight disagreement. "None of them deserves the title, by the way. Black and Gold aren't right for them. We should send out someone to ensure that they won't bother our plans anymore."

"Your cruelty is something I always admired about you," he said with a smirk.

"It's all I have left, right?" she asked amused as she brushed back a strand of her hair. "If it hadn't been for Helen's pointless sacrifice, we would have been able to eliminate at least the Queen … well, all in due time as Lord Maxime would have said…"

"Regarding Black Lady … if even Cornelius couldn't kill her for some reason I really wonder who is supposed to get rid of this nuisance. Our last attempt to poison someone was a failure after all – since the Heiress is still running around," he complained. "We burned quite a few decent fighters in this mess after all…"

"And they weren't able to kill at least a single one," she agreed in discontent. "I wasn't all too sure if we could win the battle but when the stupid Heiress met the chimeras, I was very sure that she wouldn't be able to recover all that fast…"

"I hoped that she would lose at least an arm or a leg," he nodded. "But she is Helena's daughter – if we want to accept this or not, we have to deal with this situation."

"The Heiress won't be a problem much longer – at least not if it goes like I want it to go," Dora smirked. "And regarding the Black Lady … our very own Black Lord might be honoured to take her out personally. There cannot be two People of Black after all."

* * *

Jun Li felt that something was wrong when she got home from work and unlocked the front door to her house. She could feel Chao's chi most of the time when she got close enough and right now, it felt … ill. Her heart rate sped up as she dropped her bag and her hands and knees trembled as she hurried up the stairs.

The second proof for her theory that something was wrong was that Chao hadn't greeted her and that he was in Min Li's room where he would never fall asleep out of deep respect for the young girl who he had raised since she had been a little baby.

She crashed into an expensive vase and heard how it shattered as she rushed away but she didn't care. She had enough money to buy a new one and her cousin was more important to her than a silly item she had bought a few months ago.

Finally, she reached her daughter's room and opened the door.

The last ray of hope vanished instantly.

Chao was on the floor, obviously in great pain from the look on his face. She took the last few steps before she sat down on the floor and searched for his pulse. She knew that he was alive but she had slipped back into her old pattern. The pulse was there but too fast.

"That's too early…" she whispered as she stroked his sweaty hair. "It's too fucking early."

"Jun…nie…" Chao groaned as he opened his eyes. "I am …sor…ry…"

"Don't talk, brother," she said as she kissed his forehead and felt the heat radiating from him on her lips. "I will call the ambulance. You will be fixed once more."

"If … if it's really over this time…" he began, concentrating on his thoughts. "Tell Min Li … that I always loved her … and that I am sorry…"

"You should be," she snapped as she grabbed the phone on her daughter's desk. "You have been sick for a very long time after all."

She was right even though no one in their family would admit as much. Chao had been born with a weaker health than Jun Li or Lan Fan and when he had been thirteen, he had been suffering from the Xing Fever and he had never recovered completely. The only reason why he was still alive was the medicine of the Fang-family. The doctors and healer had given him ten years but he had outlived this prediction by many years and yet, it was too early. Jun Li had known that his time was limited but she had pushed it away.

"I know," he said with a faint smile as he stared at the ceiling. "Listen, Junnie, if I go now, make it look like it was some kind of training accident. Min Li … isn't supposed to know."

She glared at him as she dialled the number. "We both know that she loves you far more than she could ever love me because you were the one who raised her. She and I, we are very much alike and I swear that if I'd tell her that I accidentally killed you, she would kill me," she said before she finally got the number right.

* * *

The Xingese Ambassador, an old man of the Chang-clan, yawned as he leaned back in his chair as the door was opened and a young woman of maybe nineteen years entered his office. Her hair was up in a spiky black ponytail and if the crest on the back of her kimono-styled jacket hadn't already screamed out the name of her clan into the world, the huge dog next to her would have gladly fulfilled this task.

"Chang-sama," she said with a respectful box as she patted her dog's head. "Meimei Cho reporting for duty. The emperor told me that my new occupation would be in Amestris."

The old man stared for a moment. Meimei Cho was a name every Xingese child, hell, every baby knew since the last decade. The name was associated with sheer brilliancy on the battlefield and countless victories for the Yao-clan during the wars against the Fei-clan. But the old man hadn't expected a nineteen-year old, cheerful yet mature woman. "Cho-san," he said with a nod. "Very well … you see, I am merely the secretary to Princess Mei and Prince Lei. They dropped everything when Jun Li-sama called. Something happened to Chao-san … something pretty bad from the looks of it."

Meimei nearly stumbled over her own feet as she took a step forward but her dog stabilised her quickly. "It's … it's the Day of the Sparrow…" she whispered. She knew. Of course she knew. Ping had told her. Well, she had blackmailed him. Extra lessons against the information why he was so jumpy around Min Li and why he had been against snooping around in the Wei-compound (which would have been a crazy idea anyway) – and so Ping had told her of the prescription he had seen in his parents' laboratory. She had pieced it all together, from the effort the elders of the Wei-clan put into getting Chao married as soon as possible from Chao's regular visits at the hospital and the worried gazes Lan Fan and Zan, Chao's father, exchanged when the man coughed again. Meimei had sworn that she would get Chao to tell Min Li about his illness but she had never gotten the chance … and now, it was too late because Min Li would find out very soon.

* * *

Lan Fan paled as she turned away from the phone and crashed straight into Ping who had leaned against the wall close to Min Li's room, obviously on guard duty which made sense after Victoria had thought a bunch of Maxime's supporters a day earlier.

"It's the day of the sparrow, isn't it?" the boy asked as he raised his head. "I knew that this day would come … but I never expected it to come this early."

The empress looked at him and she remembered what she had heard about her niece's team. They had Meimei Cho who was better known as The Legend for her incredible skill on the battlefield, they had Lee Cho who was better known as The Money because whether it was necessary or not, he had always enough cash to bribe someone, Ping Fang had been The Informant because he had been always able to dig out a little detail which could be used for blackmailing, Jing Bo had been the physically strongest member of the team and Min Li had been the Joker just in case that something would have gone wrong.

And things had gone wrong before. Lan Fan had ordered a member of the village to pass her Team Meimei's mission statistics and therefore she also knew about the mission which was officially called a success while the complete team would always call it a failure … and about the participation of Ping and Min Li in the war against the Fei-clan.

"Yes," Lan Fan said tiredly as she leaned against the wall. "That fool … he promised me that he'd die in a battle … why can't he even keep the easiest promise?"

"Two words: Min Li," the Fang-heir shrugged. "He nearly died in the last days of the war against the Fei-clan … but she didn't allow him to leave. Stupid girl crossed the enemies' lines twice and brought back the herb my father needed to make the antidote."

"That's the real reason behind her promotion, right? Extreme loyalty to the village or stuff like that haven't played into Lord Yao's decision to promote her, correct? He merely admired her stubbornness and her will to go through hell to save someone she cares for."

"You know the leader of your village, empress. You dealt with him on the same level I dealt with him before you married and so yes, he promoted her because Meimei-sensei would have murdered him if he hadn't appreciated _'the efforts my poor student had to take just because the rest of the village is too incompetent'_ or however she put it."

"That sounds a lot like the famous Meimei," Lan Fan said as she sighed. "We will depart tomorrow. I will take it upon myself to fill Min Li in. If I was you, I would practice how to look surprised and very shocked. I will see you later, alright?"

* * *

Min Li cried like she had never cried before. She sobbed into her uncle's chest as her fingers clutched the bed sheets and her whole body trembled. Chao patted her shoulder softly as he gazed at Jun Li who stared at them with her most stoic facial expression, obviously unwilling to say or do something.

"Please … Min Li … stop crying," he pleaded. He had never been got with crying women – something which was quite strange considering that he had grown up with Jun Li and Lan Fan and that he had raised Min Li since she had been born. "Everything will be alright. There…" he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head. "I am here. I … I will protect you. That's what I promised to do – and did I ever fail you?"

He remembered the last time she had cried like this. It had been after a failed mission when her yellow dress had been crimson from all the blood that had been shed - thankfully not her own – and she had nearly lost her teammates. Back then, she had cried like this as well and now, he understood how the boys had felt.

"U-Uncle Chao," the girl chocked out as she sobbed even harder. "I-I failed you."

"You didn't," he replied. "It was my duty to protect you – and not the other way around. And … even if I should die, I will be there for you. So stop crying."

He wondered why she had finally broken. All her life, she had been so emotionally strong. Even as a toddler she had hardly cried because she had always seen something to smile for. She had been stronger than most people he had known – at least emotionally – but now, she was broken and everything he could do was to told her and to assure her that everything would be alright again while he wasn't all that sure if he wasn't lying.

But the bond between them, formed out of respect and love between a father _because he had been her father for the longest part of her life_ and a child _because she was his daughter in everything but blood_, wouldn't break easily.

Jun Li moved nervously in the background, shifting her weight from one foot to another. She hadn't been there. She hadn't been there when Chao had fought his illness while Min Li had fought for respect. If anyone had failed the others at a point, it had been her.

From the day she had accepted that her daughter had died and Chao had raised Min Li, it had been their fate to be always connected on a level she would never be able to understand. She was a woman of mind and no woman of heart. She liked, no, _loved_ plain and simple facts because there was no space left for misinterpretations. She knew that everyone was different and most of the time, she was quite happy about this but sometimes, she also accepted that some people were very much alike in the depths of their hearts.

And even if it would be Chao's fate to vanish so early, Jun Li simply knew that her daughter would be strong enough to keep moving because even with him gone, he would always be there to guard her from anything bad.

"Understood," Min Li whispered as she released him. "I am okay now."

"That's my butterfly," Chao said as he kissed her forehead. "You grew so much, Minnie."

"Thanks to you," she replied as she smiled after wiping away her tears. "We will be fine."

"Are you sure?" Jun Li asked hoarsely.

"Of course," her daughter replied. "We will beat that. We never lost before after all."

* * *

Jade and Edward had been walking home from the train station together through the same dark alleys they constantly told the children _not_ to take when a man dressed in black stepped into their way. "Jadelina Mustang?" the stranger asked darkly.

"That would be me," the woman replied calmly. "What's the matter? I am in a hurry."

"I was ordered to finish of the Black Lady … and according to your clothes I guess that it's you," he replied as he crossed his arms. "I want you to inform that I do not agree with the concept of Onyx Jade. I am sorry but you simply can't pull off black the way I can."

She simply stood there with her mouth slightly agape. "You are too late," she said. "Onyx Jade is a person who hasn't been alive for months. You might be searching for Princess Emerald and in this case, yes, it would be me."

"Jade, I think that he's serious about killing you," Edward warned.

"That would be fine with me – especially since I cannot stand his attitude and would love to kick his ass into the next century," she said amused as she took off her glasses and held them out to her partner in crime. "Edward, be a nice guy and hold them for me," she said sweetly as she put in her contacts. "Just so you cannot smash my glasses, Black Guy."

"Lady Dora named me Black Lord – and it would be good for you to remember this name."

"Very well," Edward said as he stored Jade's glasses away in his red coat. "If we are fighting for colours now, I fear that I cannot simply watch, Jade. I know that you could do it on your own as well but … I have been waiting for the chance to brag with my skills for too long."

She rolled her eyes at him before they both grinned. "You are crazy, Elric," she declared.

"That's why we get along like this," he replied as they focused onto their opponent. "Black Lord or whatever you are, I want you to know one thing: black is the colour of despair and that's why Jade can pull it off: she faced despair and she turned her desperation into passion … and the will to stay alive so that another tragedy will be prevented." He focused onto the so-called Black Lord. "The thing is: no one in this whole damn world can pull of black as good as Jade does it – and no matter how long you have been wearing is, she will ever have something you lack: the personality to empathise the colour. She lived black for years – and I don't see why some random jerk should suddenly question her right to wear a colour. Hell, no! And she lost so much more than you, okay?"

* * *

The black-haired woman had been watching the situation from afar, like she had always done. She had known that her team had been hiding things from her, using kind words and gentle lies to shelter her from the ugly truth. Those words of freedom and peace had seemed like dreams to her back then and now she scolded herself for letting those illusions to fool her. She had acted distantly in the past, before they had left her behind. She didn't want to say goodbye because this time, it might be very well the last time that she would see them.

But even now, she was listening to their voices in the air. Those battles weren't hers but a part of her desired to fight alongside her students. She loved them all and she wanted them to return safely. She remembered Ping's words which had been surprisingly arrogant – _"Save your tears because I will come back – and the others too!"_

She had heard him saying those words as she had watched them leave. A part of her wished to be able to hate him for those words because this wasn't how their life was – they always calculated the risk that they might die when they took on a mission.

She had tried to hide her fear and her pain. She had lost so many friends along the years of war and battles but she refused to lose her team as well. This would be the end of her and so she wouldn't allow herself to suffer this pain. She wondered if she had been able to stop them by yelling at them. She knew that she could have held them back if she had really tried which she hadn't. She had wanted them to grow and if this was the price she had to pay now, very well.

She wasn't one to cry – at least usually not – but this time, she got close to those damned tears. There were at least thousand words she had never said – out of fear or out of pride. Those were the words she wanted to tell her pupils now. Those words would be words of love and of pride. "Foolish little brats…" she whispered as she watched how the three people left the hospital. She hid her sad smile as she watched how nervous Min Li looked in her pale blue dress with the sign of the Wei-family on her back. "I am proud of you guys even though you broke my heart."


	33. 197: Acceptance and denial

**Acceptance and denial**

* * *

"Black is also the colour of elegance – something you sorely lack!" Jade panted as she slammed her fist into her opponent's stomach. "It's not only bad, you see? And for the positive aspects, I continued to wear it when in battle! It also means power!"

"And where is the power you are bragging with, Black Lady?" the man inquired.

"You are getting on my nerves, buddy," Edward hissed before he punched the man hard enough to send him staggering backwards. "Jade is powerful – she just doesn't flaunt it like other people. She prefers understatement over arrogance – and that's why she's alive! You aren't strong just because you never had to struggle! You have to struggle and to overcome yourself on your way to strength – hell, if Lady Abigail taught me one thing while I studied under her and her husband was that power comes in many shapes and forms and that every one is equal to the others."

"My mother would be proud to hear that at least one of her students actually listened to her when she ranted about power and stuff like that. Anyway, we have someone to defeat and to get to the police. You are forgetting about our goal – again."

"I apologise in all formality for my thoughtlessness," he said with an ironic bow. "But you are right: we have a goal to reach before we finally get home. Hell, the work as a state alchemist is getting on my nerves – I am working overtime for weeks now."

"I can talk to your superior that he reduces your missions a little bit," she suggested as she twirled around, avoiding narrowly a counterattack and rammed her elbow into the man's chest. "As you might have noticed sometimes along the last few years, I am not your direct commander because I assumed that you'd rather work for someone … less biased."

He chuckled as he transmuted a rope made of steel to wrap it around their opponent. "I am disappointed, Breeze Soul," he said with a wink. "I expected you to know me better than that because I wouldn't have minded to be your direct subordinate. I can tolerate you far better than I could ever stand your troublesome cousin."

"L-Lady Black is the Breeze Soul Alchemist?" the so-called Black Lord asked in shock.

"So you did hear of me," she replied as she brushed back a strand of her long hair. "I was nearly wondering if my old fame already vanished, you see?"

"If you are really Breeze Soul, you are one of the most incredible alchemists I ever heard of," he said as he looked up at her from his kneeling position. "Can I … can I have an autograph? I am probably going to jail because I attacked you and so I'd love to have something to remind me of the fateful day when I was allowed to fight my idol."

"Jade, don't tell me that this is another of your admirers," Edward sighed. "I told you to find ways to get rid of them, didn't I? They are constantly getting in our way."

"I didn't choose to be beautiful and skilled so it's not my fault that we meet admirers of my brilliance!" she replied as she sent him a glare. "And my admirers didn't chase us through a whole time, wanting my coat like a few admirers – or shall I call them fangirls? – of yours!"

* * *

To realise that she was different had been very difficult for Nerissa because even though she had known this for a long time, it had been hard and painful to accept this. But in the end, she had done. It had been slightly harder to accept that she was no longer beautiful because all the injuries and sleepless nights of sorrow and silent tears had left traces – and the hardest had been to see that _Serena_ was beautiful and that Serena had left her behind and that their paths were no longer one and the same.

When she had first seen how strong and beautiful Serena was now, it had been a calming and nearly satisfying discovery. The pathetic little girl was gone and there was now a strong and stubborn woman. The winter had grown into spring … the seed had grown into a flower. Serena had blossomed … the small bud that had finally bloomed into something more gorgeous and successful. Working with the Mustang-heiress herself, able to fight the most dangerous people and to get away with her life. Nerissa had been proud of her little sister, knowing that she had formed Serena.

But now, it was all turning around. Why was Serena stronger than her? Why had Serena bloomed, though late, into something so much lovelier and perfect than Nerissa? Now, _she_ was the one teaching Nerissa. _She _was the one Jade had thanked for her backup. _She _was the one Phil had chosen to be his best friend and that made her the one to replace Jade one day when Phil would let go of his sister. _She_ was the one, always … It was always her … It was always _about _her…

Nerissa's fist relaxed in her lap and she brushed back her bangs. Her hand on the wood quivered just a bit, and she sat there lopsidedly, eyes wide, staring down at her fingers before she raised her head and watched the busy people around her, rebuilding the castle she had helped to destroy. It hurt to know that a few weeks ago, she would have been in the crowd. But now, her own body was her cage and all she could do was to think about her missed chances.

_Thinking_ … she had been thinking too much since she had crashed down to the ground. It had been funny for the first second before she had realised that there was no place for fun for her in this reality. She had found it funny that after all this time, such a weak opponent had been able to force her into self-destruction. She had wondered how it was possible that she fell this hard because she had never fallen before and she had hardly lost a fight in her whole life. But this was over now. The fight, no, the battle in Falkenburg had been a last, desperate attempt to rise again but she wasn't this blind anymore. She knew now that she had lost the fight a long time ago and if she was honest with herself, she could imagine where and when exactly she had lost the fight.

But Nerissa herself, she had bloomed quite early in her life. She had been strong, beautiful, responsible and confident, right from the start, and she had been the one that _created _Serena and she had grown strong long before her time. She used to be proud of this but now, she was already slowly dying because she had lived before her time had come. By forcing herself to grow too fast, she had destroyed herself. She was no longer three steps ahead of her little sister. She was no longer Jade's equal. She had been surpassed of both of them, by Serena and Jade, the moment she had tried to become a goddess. She had been too focused on growing to realise that she had killed herself in the progress. Jade had been smarter – again. She had grown too but at a slower pace so that she had still a few years before she would go down as well.

What in the world were they? The symbols of flowers in the life of a fighter for Amestris' happiness? Edward … he had grown too fast as well but he was younger and fate had often worked in his favour so he wouldn't start to die anytime soon because his deal with Truth had interrupted his growing in the crucial moment … Kay too but she had already died. But sooner or later, all of them would start to wither away into what they were meant to be, wouldn't they? Stems, with drying petals drooping off of their very cores. Shriveling up. Turning into mere agents, politicians … into weaklings. Nerissa had refused to let this happen to her but it had happened. She had died while Serena had grown into something better, something much more meaningful.

Nerissa knew now. She knew that she had died a long time ago, perhaps along with Kay, and she also knew that Serena looked no longer up to her – and that hurt even more than the realisation than the one that had made her see that she was dead.

Serena Hawkeye was so much taller and perfect now than her sister had ever been.

But she would be damned to take it like this because Nerissa had never learned how to quit. She stared at her legs, the ones that had betrayed her and that had left her down. They were the only real proof of her death … and while she looked down on Human Transmutation, she would walk again because this would allow her to grow once more … but this time, at a slower pace.

To her, her death only meant that she was a seed again and if she would be careful enough, she might be able to grow into a tree again … and this meant that others would look up to her again and this would mean that she would be respected once more.

It would be a start.

* * *

Meimei Cho was a plain woman. Pretty but not beautiful, rich but not swimming in money and skilled but no second Jun Li. The young warrior preferred things like this because it was not her way to like fancy things. As long as she had her green jacket with the insignia of her family on the back and a pair of black pants, she had what she needed. Well, a few weapons were nice as well but all in all, she needed her dogs more than any fancy set of kunai and shuriken. Her dogs were necessary whenever she had to track down a dead person or an object – something without a chi she would be able to sense. Her whole clan was big on teamwork because for most jobs, they needed their dogs.

She scoffed softly as she closed her eyes for a moment. She had travelled too far to burn back now and duty was duty anyway but a part of her wanted to go home before she messed everything up – not that this was likely but she still saw the risk. She wanted to slap herself but she kept going like she always had. She might end up regretting this one but for now, she had to take care of her brats.

She straightened up and dusted of her jacket before she painted her most winning smile onto her face and knocked against the door.

"Meimei Cho, what a pleasant surprise," Prince Lei said as he opened the door.

"Yeah, yeah," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand and an ironic bow. "Say, is one of my troublesome brats in at the moment, your highness?"

She had always been a master of the dance between policy and rudeness and since she was obviously pretty bothered by something at the moment, he admired her self-control.

"You came the whole long way from Xing to Amestris just to check up on them?"

"Don't get me wrong – I got a transfer to Central City along with my promotion," she replied as she toyed around with her new ring with the crest of the village which marked her as a general. For a moment, he marvelled at the fact how young she was to hold such a position before he remembered that Jun Li had been even younger when she had reached the rank of a general.

"So you will be hanging around here quite a lot now, huh?" he muttered quietly.

"Are you bothered by this, Prince Lei?" she asked with her impish grin.

"No – I simply wonder if you are aware that international experience was the only thing you lacked on your way to become leader of the village – along with a committed relation ship," he said with a smirk.

"I am engaged," she said crisply.

"And I knew all along that Uncle Yao would be able to trick you."

"I accepted my fate a long time ago," she replied. "If it's my way to lead, very well, I will do it. Lord Yao can always rely on me."

"The last thing I heard from you about this issue is that you said that you'd rather die in a battle than lead the village."

"Five years is a long time to change opinions. And if Min Li can be heiress to the Wei-clan, well, then I can lead as well."

Lei sighed softly as he looked at her. "You have changed, Meimei," he said. "That's why Uncle Yap wants you to lead the village."

His uncle, the younger brother of his father, was a kind and sweet man who had been a great warrior in earlier years and an even better tactician and so he had been chosen to lead the village when the former leader had retired. The position of the leader was a desired one and Lei knew at least twelve other people who would kill to gain the position but his uncle had chosen the young Cho-woman a long time ago. Lei had been well-aware of the attempts to groom the girl for a long time – ever since she had been called back to the village and had been given her own team to train.

"In his eyes, I didn't change but merely became the person he knew I would be one day."

* * *

He had been watching her for a long time, always wondering how someone could work this hard without a single break but deep down, he knew that she never stopped because she would fall apart if she did. She had to be with other people all the time because if she would be all alone, the regret and the tears would return and this was the last thing she wanted. Her past lay behind her, hidden beneath frosty smirks and genuine smiles, and he knew that she would never look back.

They were too similar in this aspect. The shadows of their pasts were still trying to tie them onto the dark moments of their lives and they knew that once they would break and shed a single tear, they wouldn't be able to stop because they had faced too many terrible things and now, they had to stand strong and act like nothing bad had ever happened to them. They were masters of this technique. They had been standing their ground since the very first day shadows had robbed their light and whenever they had been smashed onto the ground, they had gotten back up.

"I am worried," she announced as she sat down on his table in the cafeteria in the governmental district of the town. "The secret service has been investigating a terror cell … and we haven't found out anything so far. We don't know where those guys came from or what they want. Roy is getting mad at me because I cannot tell him more."

"Do you need my support?" he inquired calmly as he smiled at her. "C'mon, we all know that you are too proud for your own good but it would be easy enough to get my help."

She snorted. "If we wouldn't have been friends for such a long time, I'd kill you now," she said dangerously sweet. "But as you already assumed, I need your help. We need to figure out what those guys want from us … because I really don't want to lose someone."

"I am sorry but I happened to overhear," Stevens said as she rested her mug on the table for a moment. "Timms told me last week that he had data on a terror group in Central. You might want to ask him whether they are identical, Miss Hawkeye."

"And that's why we have the secret service, Phil," Serena said with a wide smirk as she nodded at her subordinate. "Stevens, tell your buddy to report to me in half an hour. I have to play a few things beforehand but we will beat those terrorists."

* * *

"The secret is the circle, Min Li," Nerissa said as she looked at the black-haired girl. "As long as the circle is complete, no energy will be wasted. If you look at the fighting style of any alchemist, you will recognise the pattern. We use so many arrays and circles that we started to live in a circle as well. Your sensei … she knows it as well. The circle is a stable figure and therefore difficult to be broken. She is maybe wiser than I am but…"

"No, you already helped me," the girl said with a bow. "You actually allowed me to consider something I kinda ignored beforehand … but now, I see far clearer."

"Truth is my field of expertise so feel free to ask me any question you still have," the paralysed woman said quietly. "Regarding your uncle … I am sure that he will recover soon."

"How can you say those things with a straight face when you haven't recovered yet yourself?" the Xingese princess asked tiredly. "No, I have to accept that people die sometimes."

"If I was you, I wouldn't take my mother's words for the only truth," Nerissa said as she poured tea into her cup. "She is a good, no, a fantastic woman but right now, her main focus is directed at protecting you. She lost you once before … and I think that she is scared of you walking away from her again … because she isn't enough of an idol to you."

"When I was a little child, maybe five years old, the only reason why I trained so hard that I managed to surpass Lan Fan in hand-to-hand combat quite early in my life was that I wanted to be like my mother. Hell, the reason why I went to the academy and through years of training is that I wanted to be like her."

"Believe me, I understand you completely," Nerissa said softly. "But lately, you are disappearing, Min Li. Like my sister, I tend to watch. We saw. We saw how you started to fade away with all your amazing goals and intentions." She leaned back and looked at the girl with the most serious facial expression anyone had ever seen her wearing. "I know how you feel and what you wonder about. I have been there too … and I know that no one will ever be able to replace Chao for you."

"The little things worry me the most," the girl whispered. "He has so many amazing little antics like to give my flowers when I lose a fight or to make hot cacao on lonely winter nights like these when I am freezing in my bed. My mother … she didn't belong to my childhood and now, I need ways to fit her into my life. When she left Xing, it was like she closed and locked a door, leaving me behind to start my own life and to change other people's view. I love her … but I love my uncle more … because he was there."

"She didn't want you to be sad and crawling through your misery," Nerissa whispered. "And she doesn't want to let go either."

"We are all pretty bad at saying goodbye, you know? That's why she can't let go of him."

"Argh, your family is complicate enough to give me a headache," the blonde complained as she rubbed her temples. "The only thing I know is that you are strong … like one of those ships I saw when I was in Aerugo."

"If I was a ship, I'd be sinking among this chaos," Min Li replied tiredly. "I never realised that life has so many complicate questions. What's our purpose and where should we stay? Those questions bother me – because I don't know the answers."

"Life isn't easy," Nerissa agreed as she massaged her numb feet.

"Hell, I don't even know to which side I belong or how this will end," the girl said annoyed. "Tell me, what would you do if you were in my position?"

"You are only human. You will make mistakes just like everyone else but you don't have to let those mistakes define you," the alchemist said with a shrug. "Chao is a decent guy – and he is pretty strong so you shouldn't worry too much … but really, Min Li, talk to his doctors personally. Like I said: I would trust Jun Li with my life … but not with my problems … she might be keeping some secret regarding your uncle from you to keep you relatively save from sorrow … that's simply how mothers are, you know?"

"Let's simply pray that Serena doesn't end up like this because she is the head of the secret service. If she starts to keep secrets from us to protect someone she cares for, the complete country would go down the drain," the girl agreed with a smile.

Light footsteps approached and stopped in front of the door before a sharp knock resounded in the hospital room. "Come in, please," Nerissa called out politely.

The door swung open and nothing could have prepared Min Li for the sight of her sensei in the middle of the doorway. Meimei Cho wore her trademark green jacket with the family crest on her back and black pants with brown shoes. "Hey there, may I come in?" the Xingese woman asked with a faint hint of glee in her smile and her eyes.

"M-Meimei-sensei!" the girl declared surprised as she nodded in the direction of her old instructor. "I thought that Lord Yao decided your staying in the village is crucial for the safety of our home! How can you be here if you should be there?"

"In his _infinite_ wisdom, Lord Yao decided that I should work for the ambassador for half a year before I return and probably take over the position as leader of the village with all the annoying duties afterwards," the older woman explained.


	34. 198: Crimson and Scarlet

**Crimson and Scarlet**

* * *

Nerissa wheeled down a dusty Ishbalan road while Victoria who was carrying Luis walked next to her. Winter and late autumn were the only seasons the redhead could stand the eastern country because of the usual heat and because she had taken a liking towards the Ishbalan soldiers and messengers she knew, she had decided to go with her aunt.

"It's a nice place," the girl stated seriously.

"Yes, I think so too," Nerissa agreed calmly as they reached the administrative building. "Well, where is the fool hiding from me?"

"Miss Hawkeye and Miss Hawkeye-Hamilton," a calm voice said as Ishbal's religious leader met them halfway up the ramp. "It has been a while since we saw either of you in this town. It's good to see you again."

Victoria blushed. The last (and only time) she had been to Ishbal had been in July, many years ago, and she had fainted due to the heat. "Nice to see you again, Leader," she said kindly as she smiled shyly. While neither the Drachman Tsar nor the Cretan President had ever managed to intimidate her, the leader succeeded in doing this with ease.

Nerissa smiled up at him. "It's really good to meet you again," she said as she tried to bow while she still sat. "I would stand up to greet you properly – but it's not possible for me at the moment. Anyway, is Ted- Lawrence in?"

"Miles just finished his paperwork. He'll be out in a moment," Scar said as he pulled back his hood. "It's great to see you well, Nerissa."

She smiled at him. "Who said that such an injury would be my end is a liar," she grinned.

He chuckled softly before he felt Victoria's gaze in his left shoulder and he remembered his manners as he nodded at her. "The chancellor's daughter, huh? I don't think that we ever met officially before," he said with a mocked bow. "The name's Scar, your highness."

She snorted before she bowed slightly as well. "My name is Victoria," she said as her eyes gleamed dangerously. "I don't react to 'your highness' or 'chancellor's daughter'. I am my own person – and that means that Miss Victoria is the highest amount of respect I will tolerate, Mr Scar. I hope that's okay for you."

The leader chuckled in amusement. "You are a quirky girl," he said as he smiled at her. "I like you, really. I would also love to show you around while your aunt and Miles are having lunch together but I really need to get back to my work. Scar, why don't you show her around?"

"As long as Luis is with me, I don't mind," the girl said as she picked up the little boy. "I made a promise that I'd keep an eye on him until Peter and Catherina will be back."

* * *

_"Nerissa," her father said seriously as he looked at her, broken and yet strong enough to keep going. "We need to talk about a very serious topic. Are you up for this talk or would you rather wait until the painkillers are out of your system?"_

_"I am always up for an important conversation," she replied as she sat up in her bed and folded her hands onto her lap. "Talk, father, if it's really important, it cannot wait."_

_"It's about Luis," he said as he looked seriously at her. "You know that Catherina and I have a dangerous life and even though you might not want to hear it: we could always die on a mission. And if this happens, we want you to take care of Luis. He adores you and we know that you love him too. If we aren't anymore, please, be there for him."_

_She closed her eyes for a moment before she exhaled slowly. She had known that this day would come but she had never believed it to come so soon. Her parents – because she saw Catherina as her real mother – were people who lived for danger … people who always risked everything because in order to gain something, you had to risk something of equal value. She had known that her parents were worried about their son because Luis was so young and yet, she had known that they counted on her just in case that something bad would happen._

_She loved her little brother dearly – maybe just as much as she loved Serena – and she remembered the strange expression on her father's face when Peter had watched them cuddling with each other, before her injury, in another life. It had been an expression of sadness and relief, an expression of dejection and hope._

_Peter looked back at his daughter. He had known her answer for a long time. He had seen how much she cared about her brother. Luis was her first priority – and she showed it in her odd, Nerissa-ish way. Peter knew his daughter and he knew his son. Luis loved Nerissa more than he liked anyone else. Luis had the creepy hobby of watching how Nerissa slept. He would always sneak into her bedroom and sat down on her bed when she slept. True, to watch how Nerissa slept was peaceful and calming but no one but Luis was so addicted to this calm that surrounded her when she was completely at ease._

_Luis had also once said that he loved Nerissa's smile because "it's bright and pretty – like the sun, mommy" and according to those who had seen Nerissa sleeping, it was especially beautiful when she was dreaming of things that made her happy – like Miles or her little brother._

_Once, in an easier life, Peter had liked to watch his daughters sleep as well. It had been the most comfortable time of his life, sitting in the nursery, watching them sleep and listening to their light breaths – there hadn't be anything better to him._

_For a moment, he wondered if she knew, if his oldest daughter had seen the truth he was trying to hide from her. She had often seen straight through him but this time, he prayed that she wouldn't be able to figure it pout … because while he acted like the day of his demise was approaching very fast._

_He didn't want to leave yet but he had known that this would day come sooner por later – and now, it would come sooner. Catherina had known it as well. She had known all along._

_But while they would fall into the eternal sleep very soon, Nerissa would raise again. She would be there when they would be gone. And she would be able to guard Luis from the bad things in this world because she would be his shield._

_He trusted her and he wanted his children to be happy – even though he wouldn't be able to see them happy again._

_"I am sorry, Serena," he whispered as he realised that he would see none of his daughters as a bride because he would miss all their weddings. "I am so sorry."_

* * *

The ballroom looked amazing, everyone had to admit as much. Everything was glittering and strings of pearls hung from the ceiling. The roses which had been shattered all over the huge room gave a nice scent as the women in their white and black dresses and the men in their black or white tuxedos strolled around, some dancing and others talking.

The atmosphere, however, was strangely tensed and those who were sensitive for those things picked up this tension quite earlier into the evening and became careful.

Those who had been hoping for statements from Serena Hawkeye about her upcoming wedding were just as disappointed as those who asked Philippe Mustang for insider information about the Midwinter Ball he and his sister would be hosting and which he was planning. The lack of conversation with them might be blamed on their occupations. Neither Phil nor Serena worked in a field where it was smart to spill too many details.

Another looming question was the absence of three important women of the High Society, of three women who had been born into a life of luxury and wealth. Jadelina Mustang, the former rebel who had shocked everyone by marrying the Aerugian Prince, was missing – just like the chancellor's second oldest daughter Victoria and her aunt, Nerissa.

Their absence had been vaguely explained in the following ways: _She is working so hard lately and so she really couldn't attend_ (Jade), _She is still not over her injury and so it's better for her to stay at home – especially since she can't dance without her legs_ (Nerissa) and _She is studying for a project at the university and so she's in Ishbal at the moment_ (Victoria).

It had been everything they had been able to say because the truth would have sounded anything but good for them.  
_Lady Jade? She is currently recovering from her broken ribs. Very ladylike, huh? Nerissa really apologises but she is too busy hanging out with her boyfriend to attend this ball and Victoria rather babysits her uncle and since he is too young to be here today, she couldn't come either. They are all really, really sorry … not._

"…I am bored," Laila announced as she leaned back in her chair as she watched the circling couples on the dance floor. "What's your opinion on this so-called party, guys?"

"Terrible music, no good conversations and the only decent thing is the food," Cai shrugged as he crossed his arms. "Victoria did the right thing by going to Ishbal with Nerissa. I guess that even the Sacred Places are more interesting than this … party."

"Well, maybe we can do something against this music," Elicia said kindly. "Perhaps we can ask for a song or something like this – your father said that we can do everything as long as we don't get too impolite with this … um, duke, right?"

"Lord, actually," Nick corrected before he sighed. "Well, Laila, you are the girl who knows how to deal with these guys. Go over and get us better music, will you?"

"I am going, no problem," she said and got up before she smoothed out her bright white dress. "Am I looking important enough, brother?"

"Yes, you look beautiful, Lai," he said and patted her shoulder. "Too bad that Vicky can't be here with us … or Jade. They would have gladly welcomed the dress code."

Elicia chuckled softly as she looked around in the crowd of black and white gowns and tuxedos. "It's strange how beautiful something so simple can be," she said before she froze and nudged Cai's side. "We might want to save Owen before those girls kidnap him," she said as she bit her lower lip. "They don't seem to get that he has a girlfriend."

"Okay, two missions start now: Laila, you take care of the music and we go and free Owen before he has to stay in Creta for the rest of his life as _'Prince Charming'_ to some snotty upper class brat," Helena announced as she nodded at her twin sister. "Let's go, yes?"

"Understood, Captain," Elicia's brother Gregor said as he bowed slightly. "We are heading out now. The mission starts."

Laila nodded as she looked around, wondering how to get to the orchestra without being spotted by someone who might want to talk to her. She had been shaking hands and making polite but pointless conversation all evening long and she really wanted to have fun because the hard work at the university was killing her and her life was complicate too.

While she walked over to the orchestra, her friends hurried over to Owen who was surrounded by good-looking women of his age group who were obviously trying to flirt.

"Owen," Nick said calmly as he rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. "We haven't seen you all evening. Have you been enjoying yourself so far?"

The Storm Alchemist looked at him with an expression that literally said: "Are you fucking kidding me?" before he smiled sweetly. "Oh, hey, Nick," he stated. "I have been wondering how long it would take you guys to find me. It's a real maze, this place."

"Heard anything from Vicky since she left for Ishbal?" Helena asked with a sadistic smirk.

"Not much," he replied as he patted her beautifully styled hair. "Did you hear from her?"

"Yes," Rachel nodded, easily picking up her sister's plan. "She asked for confirmation for the date you two planned for the Friday after her return … dinner, I heard?"

"Correct," he said. "You have been stealing her agenda again, haven't you?"

He knew that both girls sometimes were little devils because their hobby was to spy on other people – especially their siblings and babysitters – to blackmail them later on in letting them stay up longer in the evening.

Meanwhile, Laila had reached her destination and smiled down at the conductor. "Excuse me," she said friendly, "but I was wondering whether I might suggest a song."

Her smile was dazzling and she was too famous to be ignored by anyone.

"W-which s-song d-do y-you have in m-mind?" the man stuttered.

For a moment, her eyes searched for something before she stepped down the stairs and rested her hand on the piano. "I would prefer to show you the melody so that you can pick it up from me," she said as she slid onto the bench and rested her hands on the cold ivory. "Do not worry," she said. "I have been playing and practising for more than ten years."

* * *

Scar found himself surprised as he realised that he accepted the chancellor's daughter as someone agreeable, someone he could easily talk with. She was intelligent and probably a little bit more on the shy side of life but far from being scared to speak her mind. She also happened to be able to understand what he was going through.

"Letting go of a love that will never be?" he asked, hardly able to understand when or how she had seen the truth. "Maybe you are right, Miss Victoria. Maybe it will be healthier to let her be."

The redhead nodded as her hair seemed to be scarlet in the fading light. "Like I said: she will never reconsider," she said softly, staring into the distance as they walked slowly through the city. "It's Nerissa … and once she makes a decision, she sticks to it till the end."

"Not unlike you, I guess," Scar said as he watched how her eyebrows twitched. "You seem to be the kind of person who sticks to whatever she decided. That's the honourable thing to do after all and from what we heard, you are a woman who honours her word."

"My dream is to become chancellor and so my word has to be honest," she replied as she enjoyed the last few sunrays of the day on her face. "To be a liar wouldn't only make other people despise me. I would also start to hate myself because … that wouldn't be what I wanted to become when I started out…"

"You would be the second orphaned chancellor," he commented drily.

She snorted, so softly that he hardly heard it. "…yes," she said after a few heartbeats. "But don't you know what they say? _Orphans make the best soldiers and the best leaders - because they know that they won't be missed and because they know how much it hurts to lose someone dear._"

"So I am not the only one who read The Madness of War?" Scar inquired.

"Seeing that my biological mother wrote it, I felt kind of obliged to read it," she said. "I believe that I cried over the last few chapters because it simply hurt so much to read what they went through at the time. True, for your people, it was even worse but I cannot judge you because I cannot understand."

"Pretty wise for a sixteen-year-old girl who spent a whole year in hospital."

She bowed ironically. "I do what I can – whether it's being smart or smashing in castle walls," she said with mirth glittering in her deep purple eyes.

"I heard from that one," he said amused. "Word travels fast – especially when the fragile little daughter of the chancellor is involved."

Her face betrayed her disgust at this title. "I am not that fragile," she told him with the most serious expression anyone had seen on her face in a long time. "I am just unfortunate and therefore not always the healthiest person in the world. I get strong when needed."

"Hence the smashed castle walls," he grinned. Unlike the usual guests from the capital, she was not some stuck-up brat. She was human and highly aware of that fact. A brush with death at the age of eleven, nearly twelve would do this to any young woman.

She laughed, strangely melodic and too much like her slightly insane aunt. "Yeah," she agreed. "I will forever be in Laila's and Nick's shadow but I have my own light."

"…how do you feel?" Scar asked as he and Victoria sat in front of the Meditation Hall. "I heard from other people that you became quite the healer. The last time we heard from you, you were very sick. How does it feel to change so often?"

"It's neither my personality nor my so-called power what changes," she replied, staring into the distance. "It's merely the situation. My mother prepared both me and my little brother for the power and thus the responsibility we would have to carry one day. If you are strong, you need to learn kindness because if you aren't kind you will hurt other people. I was born weak and with fragile health. I was protected for a very long time, nearly all my life … but I had to realise that the feeble power I had been given wasn't enough … it was never enough for my mission … my mission to protect the people I care for. So I became stronger. I endured hours of training – both Serena and Olivier were very discreet about the lessons they gave me. I became strong … but it wasn't enough. I was still beaten – even by my little sisters."

"But you grew out of this stage, didn't you?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "I realised that my power wasn't my physical strength. My power is something else – my power is that I can grow at any time when I see someone I care for in danger. I believe that my battle skill and yours is very similar … destruction of bodies or materials. Sometimes, I scared myself when I destructed huge walls with a simple transmutation. I was too powerful – even in my own eyes, no, especially in my own eyes. I wasn't sure whether I would be able to keep others safe."

"It's surely not easy to be gifted with such a power in such young years," he agreed as he patted her fragile hands. "But look at your hands, Miss Victoria. They … they are clean. They are protecting people and saving lives … even when they destroying, they are still healing … it's because you were meant to bring change."

"Why are you so kind to me?" she asked as she looked at him.

"You are asking this question because of your family's past and my past," he stated stoically as he stared into the distance as well. "Maybe it is because you are a little kid compared to me … that's probably because I cannot see you as a potential threat."

She snorted. "My adoptive mother had my age when she came to Ishbal," she said. "And my aunt and my adoptive father were only a little bit older than I am now. I don't think that the risk a person might boor might not be depends on the age she has. It's more a matter of attitude, goal and emotional strength."

"Looking at Mei and you, I think that I can agree with this," he nodded.

* * *

She had been enjoying her evening off in the presence of her husband and her children when her phone had rung. She had accepted the call – and her order. She had never been discharged from the military and the Ministry of Science was linked to the army. She was still a lieutenant general even though she hadn't worn her uniform since many months – the last time, she had put it on for the funeral of a fallen comrade.

"I understand, Sergeant," she said as her fist tightened. "I will be there in a few minutes. Please, let everything untouched until I am there. Paramedics may do their jobs but I don't want anything else to happen yet. Please, allow me to do my job properly."

She had hated this kind of call before and now, she hated it even more. But she straightened and smiled at her husband. "It's work-related," she said as she walked upstairs to change into her uniform once more. It still fit her and so she hurried downstairs, putting on the mask of a professional soldier as she felt how her heart fluttered against her broken ribcage. She drove to the place she had been ordered to and as she saw the blue lights and the paramedics, she exhaled one last time before she stepped out of her car.

"Mrs Mustang-Rico!" Timms called out as he spotted her. "W-what is going on? I just arrived and they said that you are in charge of everything else … because you refused to pass the order down to a lower-ranking officer…"

She lowered her head. "It's a promise I made a long time ago," she stated. "I will never pass down such an order to another officer. That would be cowardly. We have to be strong. We have to face death straight and without hesitation because it's a part of human life."

"It requires great emotional composure to be able to face that tragedy again and again," Stevens said as looked at her. "More strength than most normal people possess."

"I did this before," she said as she crossed the place until she came to the place where the corpses lay. "I always thought that I faced already enough horror in my career. I don't have to worry about losing sleep over another case of murder. I already sleep terribly so it doesn't matter to me whether I see more terror or not. Even when I indentified old friends, I always thought _'rather me than someone else'_. I cannot protect everyone but I can protect my comrades and my subordinates because I can bear the darkness easier than you guys."

"Why do you keep protecting us subordinates?" Timms asked.

She lowered her head. "So that never again someone will have to face the darkness again," she stated softly. "I was a fool when I thought that I was doing the right thing by keeping others away from me. I only became even lonelier than I already was. So, I apologise."

They had been the only subordinates she had had before she had transferred to Central City and they had seen her at her best and at her worst. They had seen her shattered and completely empty after Helena Hamilton's untimely death and shining brighter as the sun after Helena had been avenged and at her brother's birthday and goodbye party in WestCity. They had been her strongest supporters and they had been the one to drag her out of the bars in the time between Helena's death and the transfer.

"You couldn't lock us out … we understood the pain too well to push you but we supported you along the way. There are many ways to deal with pain – and you chose to face the darkness of loneliness all alone," Timms said. "That's the rightful privilege of a leader – to decide to do something alone. We … we too liked Major Hamilton-Force. We haven't known her as long or as good as you knew her and we weren't as close to her as you. But … we knew her and we respected her as a superior who _cared_. Like you, she didn't view us subordinates as pawns – to be played to achieve greater power. She cared and … she had a kind personality. We see this personality in Miss Victoria as well – that's why we would rather get ourselves killed than to watch either you or Miss Victoria and Mr Nick die."

"Timms is right – for once," Stevens nodded. "She died – but she didn't leave completely. She is still there, surrounding everyone and everything … and lending us power."

"T-thank you for reminding me of this, Timms and Stevens," Jade said with a faint smile. "I only fear that those words of encouragement won't help me now. I will still have to identify their bodies, correct?"

"If you are up to this, yes," Stevens admitted as she waved dismissively at the present police men who stepped back. "That's probably the worst thing about being a member of the army: having to identify fallen comrades. Wouldn't you agree?"

"We all knew about this duty when we joined, didn't we?" Jade asked. "We all knew that there would be times when we would curse our profession and everything connected to it. I have been through this before. I learned how to deal with the pain of losing a comrade a long time ago, probably even before I had to lose Lynn."

"That's why you are still our leader," Timms replied.

She nodded at them and brushed back her bangs which where the result of an overdue appointment at the hair dresser's. "Very well, Lieutenant General Mustang reporting for duty," she said as she stepped away from them, ignoring her trembling knees. She hated her duty to identify someone else because this meant that she would have to sign the official declaration of his or her death – and that would prevent her from forgetting about it all. But this was her duty and she had always prided herself for being one of the most dedicated officers in the country.

* * *

_"…the extent of Nerissa's abilities is too huge to let her run around on her own," Roy said, looking at both Serena and Jade. "One of you has to take her under her wing. You both felt her strength before … and you won't underestimate her."_

_"I am not absolutely sure whether I understand you, Roy," the black-haired woman said. "I see the need to supervise her … but we aren't able to restrain her – at all."_

_"You felt her strength not too long ago," Serena said quietly. "How did it feel to you?"_

_"I have not felt such strength since my brother took my serious in a spar," the minister stated calmly. "Nerissa's strength is a joke compared to Phil's … but hers is different. It's not bound to an element unlike mine and my brother's. It's probably water-based, somewhere in the depth, but it's also changing – that's why I had such a hard time in the fight."_

_"So she is still weaker as Phil," Serena muttered. "This is good to hear."_

_"If it's like this, I should maybe ask him to be her guard," Roy muttered._

_Jade raised her hand and shook her head._

_"Oh, looks like little Jadelina has something to say," Serena said amused._

_The black-haired woman threw her a glare. "I have in fact something to say," she said with a huff. "And it's like this: please allow me to be the one to guard and restrain Nerissa."_

_"You are aware that you might easily end up as her executioner, right?" Roy asked calmly._

_"That's the reason why it's better me than Phil," she replied, calmly and without batting an eye. "I can deal with death and killing. He cannot. He is stronger and has been given the gift to fight like a true hero … but I have the cold blood he lacks."_

_Serena wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel about this development. Of course, she didn't want her last remaining sister to die but on the other end, if she were to choose the person to judge and kill Nerissa, she would always chose Jade who hadn't only the gift of a silent conscience that wasn't easily bothered but also the gift of the 'soft kill', meaning that no one who fell victim to the black-haired woman had to suffer. Breeze Soul killed silently and most of the time, her victims weren't even aware of their demise until they were dead._

_Serena had seen the success rate of Jade's missions under Bradley's reign. More than ninety percent of the executions had been performed without a word and there had never been a sign of struggle. Most people had gone to bed and had never woken up again because a shadow, a woman dressed in black had killed them. The blond woman knew that Jade had preferred it like this – silently and merciful to a certain extend. She had disliked the noise some of her co-workers had made during their kills and so she had never murdered in a way that was plain obvious. Many assassinations had been viewed as suicide when Jade had had to rely on her knife instead of her alchemy._

_If Jade were to kill Nerissa for one reason or another, Serena could be sure that her older sister would be dead before she would realise that it had been decided to kill her._

* * *

The dojo should have been empty when Meimei Cho, designated head of the Yao-village, entered. But it wasn't. She had chosen the latest hours of the night to do some midnight training – because she hadn't been able to sleep for various reasons and she had intended to do it alone. In her idea of a few hours of training, she had never planned to meet her only female pupil, Min Li Wei. It wasn't even that their relationship was strained. It was quite the opposite. Min Li was one of the very few females Meimei could actually stand because she was neither whiny nor a bitch.

"…good evening, Min Li," the older woman said calmly, stretching her lean body to prepare it for the training she planned on doing.

"Meimei-sensei," the girl nodded as she looked up from the katana she was cleaning.

"You of all people should be sleeping," the woman in the green jacket stated drily as she twisted her body in ways which should have been humanely impossible. "The next few weeks will be hard on you and you should try to get all the energy you will need for this. I am not sure whether the team can support you during this time."

"You mean … you know that Ping is too busy being on cloud nine to realise that this isn't easy for me while Lee is too busy admiring all the things we have in this country and eating in my … mother's restaurant while Jing is still too much of the self-righteous bastard he used to be, right?" Min Li asked drily.

"I wasn't going to be so direct but yes, that's what I think," the sensei said darkly. "Jing is a good warrior, I'll give him as much credit. On the battlefield, you can rely on him and he is probably the last one to betray another person … but he's bad news. Especially for someone like you, Min Li. You know that I am the last one to sabotage a relationship – but I am not sure whether you will be truly happy in this relationship and as your fellow warrior and former sensei, I feel responsible for you."

"Why are you so sure that he is bad news?" the girl inquired, unreadable eyes downcast.

"He is psychically damaged and you know this better than anyone else," the instructor said as she mentioned towards the hidden scar on her student's shoulder. "Oh, allow me to correct myself: we both know this just too well," she spat with a frown as she spotted the still crimson scar beneath her collar bone. "And I wanted to marry in one of those Western-styled dresses but no, he just had to cut me there when he wanted to go and avenge his clan. He's such a damn bastard."

Meimei Cho was two years older than the team she had trained for years but she had been the student of Lord Yao – the man's first name was a mystery, even to his own relatives – when she had graduated from the warrior academy and therefore, she was well-respected in the village – well, it was more a town but the old description still stuck – because she was mature, well-mannered and extremely talented. She was no second Jun Li, no woman with more skill than happiness. She was a humble woman who could kill ten men trice her weight and physical strength in at least ninety ways – most of them didn't even require her hands. She had tried to refuse her assignment when she had been told that she would train a team because her experiences with her own old team weren't exactly great.

From the old team, three had betrayed the village and one of them had fallen by her hand. Another one had been exterminated by Min Li a few years ago but the third traitor had managed to fight Meimei to the point where she had messed up her leg. Back then, people had believed the damage to be permanent but she had recovered with much time, endurance and the sheer _willpower_ to make it.

But her personal experiences had made her too aware for the shortcomings of her team to ignore the pain Min Li had always carried or Jing's burning thirst for revenge. She had seen those struggles and she had learned to accept that people weren't perfect. But while she understood that Jing had become cold and hard-hearted, she refused to allow Min Li to love someone who would never be able to give her the love and the tenderness her shattered soul needed so desperately. Her personal opinion on Jing – that he needed a psychiatrist and was therefore unfit for the duty as warrior – had nothing to do with her form belief that there were other people, people who could make her student the happiest woman in the whole wide world. Both of them had been hurt by Jing before. Both of them had stopped him from leaving the path before and both had paid with a scar that would never fade. But it was less the scar than the knowledge that he had broken the promise that haunted them both – forever.

And Meimei believed that if Jing wasn't even able to step back from his rightful revenge and keep the promise he had made so long ago, he would never be able to be a faithful lover/boyfriend/husband for Min Li.

* * *

It was them.

Deep down, Jade had known even before she had been allowed into the tent which was supposed to keep the privacy of the victims a little bit longer – it was partially out of respect for their achievements but also out of fear for the gruesome revenge their children might take if the corpses were mistreated.

The beauty of their faces had been untouched by death and their last smile had never gotten the chance to sneak out of their faces.

"Madam?" Stevens asked as she carefully bent forward, unsure whether or not Jade would faint. "A-are you okay?"

The black-haired woman nodded as she folded her hands, praying without a word. She was not religious but she knew that the victims had been very religious and so, she did what she knew they would have wanted. "I hereby confirm the identity of Catherina D'Artagan and Peter Hamilton," she said as her voice nearly broke and before a tear would be seen, she tilted her head so that the light got caught in her glasses and obscured her dark eyes. "Tell me, what's the cause of their death, Officer?" she asked.

"Someone killed them with that fancy alchemy Madame Catherina created herself," the always gruff voice of Doctor Knox senior replied as the smoking man appeared. "That and the fact that we found his hair made it obvious who killed them."

Jade's jaw tightened, unspoken words of denial and refusal died on her tongue as soon as the man rose the little bag he had been holding, showing another shade of red.

"That's a part of his coat, correct?" he asked calmly.

The Air Alchemist wanted to deny it but she knew that he was right. "Y-yes," she whispered as she thought of the misfortune which would befall a young family very soon.

Red. She saw nothing but red: the deep crimson of the victims' hair, the scarlet shade of their blood that ran from their cherry lips and finally the ruby of Edward Elric's coat.

And ironically, it was a deep shade of burgundy that swallowed her as she passed out.


	35. 199: Law and justice

**Law and justice**

* * *

There had always been a certain air of certainty and unwavering self-confidence around Jadelina Mustang, even when she had been a young woman. She had always known what happened to be right and wrong. She had grown up to know that laws had to be followed – whether they made sense or not. She had never doubted that this was the only way how a society could function.

And even when she had been a killer, the army's knife, she had never broken laws. The first time she had broken a law, it had been the treason she had committed at Promised Day but she had never been judged for that one.

Edward Elric knew her good enough to see that this eternal resolve had been shaken. He had seen it the second he had opened the door, wondering who would visit so late. He had seen it because her hand – known for its strength and its unwavering calm – had been shaking. It was strange how good he had gotten to know her – a woman whom he had hated for so long. Or at least, he had assumed that he had hated her. By now, he couldn't be so sure about this one. He knew how her mind worked – rational and fair in a twisted way.

Sometimes, he had been amazed by her way to accept rules and laws because he knew that it wasn't like her to play anything by the rules. That was not her strength. Her strength was her quick mind and the fact that she found ways to get around laws.

He extended his hand to grab her upper arm as she seemed to trip over the hem of her coat, no, over the hem of Phil's coat. That was the reason why it was too long for her.

For a moment, deep black met bright gold and the usual determination seemed to waver once again before she straightened herself and gently pushed away his hand.

He knew that she had forgiven him for indirectly causing Lynn's death – just like she had forgiven herself. He had seen how she lived. She had to be destroyed over and over again because she the closest to a phoenix he had ever seen. She had to crash and burn in order to regain her strength. On the other hand, she was used to picking up the pieces which were always left when something ended.

Phil had once said that his sister had made it her lifelong mission to clean up after everyone else had left. _"She's the kind of woman who comes when everyone else left,"_ the younger twin had said, once, a lifetime ago when Jade had been the enemy and the most annoying person in the world and yet a mystery Edward had wanted to understand. _"She carries her own demons and keeps them around to prevent herself from failing … again."_

Jade was a woman of darkness and contradictions but she was also a woman of great loyalty and Edward often believed that there was no one else in Amestris who might rival his way of giving people a reason to move on. She had snapped at quite a few soldiers which slight injuries who had tried to use their injuries as a reason to go home early and after she had talked to them, they had been in quite a hurry to redeem themselves. As a leader, there was hardly anyone who could hold a candle to any of the Mustangs.

Her old ambitions – those which she had never fulfilled, partially because she had lost her interest or because she had decided that the price wouldn't be worth it in the end – they were like ribbons … like the ribbons she wore along with her uniform.

There had always been a huge distance between them but when she looked at him – they had the same height and she wasn't towering over him any longer – this distance was erased with the greatest of ease and he wondered why she allowed him to get close. All those years, she had been the mystery. He had never understood her – neither her ambitions nor her cold and detached personality. By now, he had realised how much of her happened to be faked. She wasn't as cold as she seemed to be. There was warmth inside of her, hidden behind layers of ice and arrogance.

And with each passing day, with every time they greeted each other on the hallways, he had gotten closer to understand that the truth about Jade was that she was simply scared of losing someone again. A few years ago, he had learned that Jade was probably the most unfortunate woman in the world because everything good in her life had come at a high price. They often talked, now. She was a good listener – claiming that she had practised it since she had been able to understand what other people were telling her. He had slowly opened up to her and for a long time, he had failed to realise why she seemed so familiar once she let down the walls she used to protect herself. She reminded him of his mother before Trisha had fallen ill.

Jade was a woman who sacred simplicity. It had been a hard fight until she had accepted Edward as her partner and when she had appointed him as her assistant and second-in-command later on, he had known that she trusted him and that it would be lethal to betray this trust. Along the years, he had gotten used to walk, work and fight at her side.

"Edward Elric," she said seriously as her free hand grabbed the file she was holding. "Can we talk in your study, please?"

A serious Jade meant mostly one thing: _trouble_. Usually, it would concern assassination attempts or similar issues. This time, however, she was too serious for this.

"Of course," he said as he led the way.

"It's usually not my style to barge in this late," she said softly as she closed the door behind her. "I think it's the eighth time I am here since you moved in and usually, I am Winry's guest. So you should know that I am not interested in long conversations."

"Yeah, 'cause usually you order me over to your house," he sighed as he leaned against his desk. "I already knew that something was up when you came without your pyjama."

She threw him a glare before she moved faster than anyone was supposed after midnight. She stood behind him and her knife was on his throat. "I am here under orders," she said dangerously softly. "Catherina and Peter were killed earlier tonight."

"A-and you t-think that I murdered them?" he asked, shocked and confused at the same time. "Cathy is my teacher. She gave me back my alchemy. And Peter's decent guy."

Breeze Soul snorted. "I am disappointed," she said slowly. "I trusted you, Elric. I was so sure that I would be able to work with you for the next few years!"

"If you were simply here to arrest me, you could have done this easier," he whispered.

She snorted. "Right now, I am wondering whether I should give you the chance of a fair trial or if I should simply end your life here and now," she replied calmly. "In ancient times, I would have been my place to end your life because you are my subordinate, my responsibility … and therefore, my failure as well."

He grabbed her wrist. "Jade," he said as he looked at her. "Please, don't do this. If I have to die, get someone else to kill me. I swear that I didn't kill them but if you don't believe me and believe that I have no longer the right to life, very well, but don't do this. Even you who believe in justice and the value of it should never taint her hands like this."

She lowered the knife. "I am not even sure if I would have been able to get over with it," she admitted. "That's where we stand now, Elric. I don't know what to believe. Whether you killed them or not – you will always be tainted with the suspicion."

"I never thought that I would ask you such a question because I know your answer anyway. Still … can't you simply let me go? I swear on my life that I had no reason to kill them. Cathy is my teacher. She gave me back my alchemy by tricking Truth. And Peter – the man is a legend. He is a freaking hero – even if he was best buddies with my bastard of a father, he is still a decent guy and he is an awesome cook."

She nodded so slightly that the movement of her head was nearly invisible. "You are lucky that I am your judge," she said as she grabbed the file and sheathed her knife again. "I will let you live. I cannot say what Nerissa will do … but as far as it will be possible, I will keep you and your family safe, Elric."

He watched how she held out his coat. "So, you believe me? Is it really simple like that?"

She snorted. "The man who lies to me when his life in on the stakes has to be born," she explained. "And I know what you look like when you are lying, Elric. You would have tried to avoid my eyes and you wouldn't have been so sincere."

"But you are still going to arrest me?" he asked.

She nodded. "Law, Edward, isn't exactly the same as justice but even so, I have to play the game mostly by its rules – at least officially. There cannot be a working state if the ministers are breaking their own laws. I believe in equality. That's why I cannot let you go."

"Well, it was worth a try," he sighed.

* * *

The Meditation Chamber was empty for once as Lan Fan arrived, late in the evening. She kicked off her shoes, impatiently as she had been when she had been eight, and crossed the large room to get to the place where Chao had used to sit during his meditation, mostly at night time because this had been the only time when he had had the time to calm down.

She felt terribly for letting him down when she had been able to support him. She had seen him. She had seen how he had worked harder than anyone else in the clan but she had been dumb enough to believe that he was indeed _'paying off for a dishonour he has brought over our most honourable clan'_. Now, she knew that he had been protecting his niece, their niece. Chao had been the better one between the three potential heirs and it pained her greatly to know that he was fading away.

Above her, the starts gleamed and she understood why Chao had liked this place the most. It was peaceful and pretty. Lan Fan sighed deeply as she leaned back but before she could even relax completely, she felt how someone approached.

"…the situation is getting a little bit too complicated," one of the elders said.

"Oh, so you finally see the danger as well, brother? If Chao dies, we lose one of the most important members of our clan. We would lose the next leader of the elders. This is a serious problem and we need to solve it … _fast_."

"We are short on heirs in the current situation. Chao is technically childless. Jun Li produced only a single heiress –a frail weakling. Only Lan Fan made sure that the main line would continue to exist … but at the current situation, neither Fu nor Ai will inherit anything. Lan Fan as their mother is too far down the line and they can get higher positions."

"We married Chao off to that woman in order to prevent such troubles. He was supposed to father children with the wife we chose for him."

Lan Fan gritted her teeth. She hated the idea of her cousin being used to breed children and therefore decent heirs for the family and yet she was slightly amused by the idea that Chao – Chao of all people – had refused the order … at least partially.

"We should have used Jun Li's girl for that marriage. She is weak but healthy … and young enough to be fertile. She would have been perfect for the job … too bad that she was technically too young when we first planned that marriage."

"What do you mean?"

"Chao is handsome and strong but very sick. Min Li is very pretty yet of average strength but very healthy. Children of them would most likely inherit beauty, health and strength," a third elder stated calmly. "We should have thought of those things earlier. Min Li inherited good blood, healthy blood while Chao's unfortunate situation might be due to the inbreeding on his mother's side. Min Li's blood has been mixed many times – especially on her father's side. This would be helpful to uphold the bloodline."

"**Our** bloodline, you mean," the first elder corrected with an audible smirk.

"Of course," the second one agreed. "Zan, however, would not agree. He is a little bit overprotective when it comes to his only son and his granddaughter or grandniece."

"So what, Bao?" the first one inquired. "Zan is our leader, I know. He is the one who has been leading the clan since his father – may the dragons bless Fu-sama – died. Zan is … loyal to the clan yet a little bit too conservative. He wants to protect the clan but not at any price. He might not enjoy hearing that we decided to annul his son's marriage."

Lan Fan had to suppress the urge to slap the three men until they would see reason and wrapped her fingers around the blade of her automail until tiny drops of red blood appeared. She had to stay calm even though she wanted to do something. She had to rely on her uncle's wisdom but the more she thought about it, the more she realised that Zan would most likely give in to his fellow elders at one point.

"Well, we should meditate after this meeting," the man called Bao said as he stepped into the Meditation Chamber. His white hair seemed to be silver in the moonlight and his pale blue kosode shimmered.

The empress made a desperate dash for the wall, ran it up and grabbed the post which stabilised the roof of the Chamber. She thanked her husband and her sister who had both advised her to keep up her training because anything else would have been a problem now. She breathed calmly as she prayed for them to leave soon.

"Bao," the third of the elders said as he knelt down alongside his comrade. "What will happen to our plan when Chao dies from his illness? We need an heir he fathered – that's for sure. The idea that Zan-kun's line would cease to exist is a terrifying one."

"As we speak, he has a reason to stay alive," Bao replied calmly, closing his eyes. "We all know that his affection for Min Li-kun borderlines to ridiculousness … and that's what we will use against them both. Neither of them would give up the other one in order to rise even higher. They are bound by life and blood – they won't break promises they made."

"You have been thinking about this for a very long time," the third one stated drily.

"Some of us actually care about the honour about this family, Fuhua," Bao replied, smoothing his clothes. "And so I have been watching Little Chao since he brought the girl into the house. We are a proud clan. We will defend our honour to the very end. He should have considered this before he made us his enemy."

Lan Fan was tempted, once more, to let go and smash in his stupid face. The elders had been always the kinsmen she had disliked the most. They were biased, far too proud for their own good and disgustingly arrogant. She had grown up under their supervision but her grandfather had gotten his old teammate, a man from the Cho-clan, to teach her how to suppress her own chi and so she was pretty much save from them at the moment.

"Chaoxiang has been probably working on reasons why we should end Chao's pointless marriage anyway," Bao shrugged. "We will end this – and try to keep our face."

* * *

The girl in the yellow dress had become a frequent appearance in the hospital, seeing that she visited trice a day, always at the same time. In the morning, she brought fresh flowers, at noon, she came with a meal she had prepared and in the evening, she brought scrolls with poems her uncle had enjoyed in his youth.

She was a steady kind of person and her dress – long-sleeved since it was winter – was the only colourful spot amidst the white and the grey of the hospital. She was always smiling when she came and close to tears which were never shed when she left.

She was waiting for a miracle to happen and while she was waiting, she patiently sat at her uncle's bedside, wiped away the blood he coughed up and smiled for him. No one understood her strength and the devotion she showed – and yet, her uncle understood.

The nurse halted her soft steps as she saw the girl in yellow, sitting on the bedside and smiling kindly. It had to be hard on her. She was so young, just eighteen and she knew that it was very likely that she would carry the man who had raised her for such a long time to his untimely grave before the old year would be over.

"…I made your favourite food today," the girl said softly. "Doctor Knox said that it's okay for you to eat properly."

"Thank you," the patient, a tall man with cool blue eyes, replied as she handed him the box. "How are you doing, lately?"

"Great," she said as nothing gave away the _oh so_ obvious lie. "Meimei-sensei said that I nearly reached my old strength again. And I have been improving my cooking."

He smiled as he opened the box. "Well, that looks really delicious," he said as he took the chopsticks she brought. "How's Cho-kun these days?"

"She is cursing Lord Yao into the depths of hell because she is bored all the time but other than that, she is well," the girl said as she smoothed out invisible wrinkles on her dress. "She is working very hard – as usual."

"As much as I admire Cho-kun, we have to talk about something much more important than that," he said seriously. "Min, what will you do … after I am gone?"

She fell silent and her hands tightened to fists. "I … I don't know," she said as the serene water of her eyes became cold ice. "I am not planning on losing you, anyway."

For a moment, the coolest shades of blue met and after a moment, he nodded. "If you intend to delude yourself like this…" he muttered.

She snorted. "I am merely too aware of your endurance and your … physical constitution to assume that you'll die simple like this," she replied. "I have seen you in far worse conditions, dear uncle. You will make it this time as well."

He sighed. "There is no special herb to save me this time around, Min Li, and no matter how many rows of the Fei-army you cross, it won't be enough to save me. Still, I forgot how long we knew each other," he muttered before another coughing fit shook him and left blood running down his chin. "I wish for this to end, Min-Min," he stated as he finally calmed down again and his obvious pain broke her heart once more.

"I know," she said as she wiped away the blood. "But look, Uncle, I am still far too young and too depending on your wisdom for you to leave me behind."

The nurse shifted her weight before she returned her attention to the conversation.

They seemed to be so close and their physical alikeness – starting with their tall build and continuing with their ice blue eyes, their onyx hair and their pale skin – made them resemble the night. They hardly seemed to be as much at ease alone because as long as they were together, there was always a hint of serenity hidden inside their eyes.

Maybe this was their secret: they had been drawn together and now, strings of fate had tied them together. It was a miracle that they managed to deal with the current situation because while it was painful for him to be sick, his family and especially his niece were suffering as well. But even the nurse understood that there would never be a way for one of them to be without the other one. It would be against their nature.

"I am happy that I never believed in fate," the girl suddenly declared. "Because now, I can be sure that there has to be a reason whether you die or not … a reason far more logical than 'it was his fate to die too young'. Whether you die or not – there will be a fate-defying reason and this … makes me kind of happy."

He smiled as he patted her head. "We have known each other for a long time, wouldn't you agree?" he asked calmly. "We had eighteen years. Eighteen years of loss and gain, eighteen years of laughter and tears. Eighteen years, we lived … circling through the life we led, always making the best out of everything. We embraced the change of seasons. We danced on the Winter Celebration and we drank sake at Midsummer Night."

Her hand found his and she entwined their fingers with each other. "We followed the flow of nature and led our lives with utmost gratefulness," she agreed. "It's strange how used we got to each other. Losing you would mean losing a part of myself."

"That's because you hold one third of my heart," he smiled. "But no matter where we are going, it will always be a journey … and even when I am gone, I will be walking next to you. Time might be playing against us, Min Li, but it's also the thing that shows us the most beautiful flowers … just for the eyes of an observant person to see."

"You have been reading too much poetry but … Strange how this idea of a journey on my own is hurting me in ways other people accept as part of fate's decree," she said softly. "So … allow me just hold on fast for a little more, Uncle. I acknowledge the past as the lessons we exquisitely crafted … out of pain on many days and out of happiness on others."

He sighed as he looked at their connected hands. "It will always be like this for we are not meant to realise our blind faith in the prize we don't even know if it does exist … and yet, how foolishly swift we choose it over things we do know."

* * *

Lei had often believed that there was nothing more beautiful than Jun Li under the soft light of the moon. It had always had a bittersweet and tragic touch to it – even when she had sneaked out of her dorm to do some midnight training. She was a tragic and often unlucky woman but he adored and loved her for the courage and the inner strength to pull through to the very end. He had often envied her for this strength but lately, he had come to realise that it had come at great cost. She had sworn that she would never break, that she would never fall apart – not until everything and everyone would be alright again.

He approached her quietly as she sat in the dojo she had built for herself and her family, the dojo where she had spent nearly her complete day since her cousin had fallen ill. He rested his hands, large and clumsy in comparison to her small and skilful ones, on her shoulders and he felt how the tension left her body.

"I am such a liar," she whispered. "No, I am worse than any liar. A liar has something to protect, a sensible truth, a secret. I got no such thing. I lie out of laziness, out of the cowardly belief that I have to lie to protect someone who has never needed my protection."

"You are talking about Min Li," he realised, looking at her and finding the same bitterness in her eyes which he had been carrying for years now in his very soul. He had known Jun Li since they had been children, barely capable of holding a kunai. Whatever she had felt, he had known and the pain about her complete failure as a mother had hurt her deeply.

"Of course I am," she replied, leaning against him. "I have no clue what to do – and Riza _promised_ me that the worst would be over at sixteen. I did never sign up for this. I never signed up for a sick cousin and a daughter that looks like me but shares no common ideas. I love them to death but … how can Min Li take his illness? How can she smile when it breaks her heart? How can she bear this goddamn pain when I fall apart?"

"You were whole when it started; you were a healthy woman without any shadows over your soul. Min Li was already shattered when it all begun to spiral out of our control. She cannot fix herself because of the pain she feels but then again, she is used to the feeling of being absolutely incapable of helping the person that matters the most."

"I … I have lost so many people as well," she whispered, biting back the tears that dared to make her eyes glossy and her facial expression very pathetic. "But I still cannot understand her mourning and her fear that he might leave her. I hate it when I understand nothing."

He understood her even now when she probably did not even understand herself and so he wrapped his arm around her and held her close for a moment. She had been a part of his life for the longest time, always shining brighter than the moon and all the stars together. It had taken years for him to muster up the courage to tell her what he felt when he looked at her because she had been so beautiful, so bright all the time and he had seen how those who had gotten too close to her had been consumed by her inner fire. And so he had been faced with the same confusion and inability to express himself she was looking at now – with the simple difference that he had been able to overcome it at some point.

"He loves her and she loves him," he finally said, slowly and full of pain but still softly. He was no fool and though he barely knew his daughter, he knew what it looked like when a young person was punishing herself or himself for loving someone she or he was not supposed to love. And Min Li was acting this way.

"He is nineteen years her senior!" Jun Li said, less in shock than she should be.

"Age is the most ridiculous reason to forbid a relationship," Lei replied calmly. "After the laws of Xing and Amestris, she is an adult. Whether she is eighteen or twenty-three makes no longer a difference. Not every love story is like ours, two lovers who are separated by social status and duty. Sometimes, it's a small love story but one that pains the lovers."

"Chao was never known to be foolish or crazy," she said as she closed her eyes.

"But in the end, he depends on her, doesn't he?" the prince asked. "I have seen them training together a few times before he fell ill. I am not even sure if they know but when he survives, he will need someone like her, someone who knows him and will help him without judging him. She can do this."

"You are probably the only father who is okay with a age difference of nearly twenty years, Jun Li stated drily as she gazed at the moon. "But I understand what you mean – they are broken in entirely different ways and thus, they can heal each other."

"You are pretty relaxed about this as well, Jun Li," he stated.

She laughed softly as she looked down. "I fear that none of us will win a parenting prize in this life," she admitted. "We are too lax and never strict enough."


End file.
